Easter eggs expensive again
Continued bird flu outbreaks major factor driving up price as spring holidays get closer
Egg prices are at near-historic highs in many parts of the world as the spring holidays approach, reflecting a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers.
It’s the second year in a row consumers have faced sticker shock ahead of Easter and Passover, occasions in which eggs play prominent roles.
While global prices are lower than they were at this time last year, they remain elevated, said Nan-Dirk Mulder, a senior global specialist with Dutch financial firm RaboBank’s RaboResearch Food and Agribusiness division. Mulder doesn’t expect them to return to 2021 levels.
In the United States, the average price of a dozen eggs was $2.99 in February, down from $4.21 last year, according to government data. Still, consumers were paying $1.59 cents a dozen in February 2021.
In Europe, egg prices are 10% to 15% lower than last year but still about double what they were in 2021, Mulder said.
One major culprit is avian flu. Outbreaks of the deadly respiratory disease were reported in Europe, Africa and Asia in 2020 and spread to North America in 2021. In 2022, 131 million poultry worldwide died or were culled on affected farms, according to the World Health Organization.
Outbreaks are continuing. In December, the U.S. confirmed cases in 45 commercial and 33 backyard flocks, affecting 11.4 million birds, according to the Agriculture Department.
In South Africa, egg prices soared after 40% of laying hens were killed late last year due to the respiratory disease, Mulder said. A tray of six eggs cost $1.34 last month, up 21% from February 2023.
Even when avian flu dissipates, it can take a long time for the egg market to settle. It takes a farm three to six months to replenish a flock, so during that time, egg supplies are lower and prices rise, said Emily Metz, president of the American Egg Board, a marketing organization.
If farms restock with too many chickens, it can drive prices down. That’s what happened in the U.S. last summer, when egg prices plunged to $2 a dozen.
“It’s supply and demand searching out. You have to have a profitable price,” said David Anderson, a professor and Extension economist for livestock and food marketing at Texas A&M University.
And profits can be hard for farmers to come by during times of inflation. Chicken feed represents up to 70% of a farmer’s costs, and feed prices doubled between 2020 and 2022, Mulder said. Weather, COVID-related disruptions and the war in Ukraine — which drove up the price of wheat and other crops — were contributors.
Elsewhere, government regulations play a part in lifting egg prices. Multiple states, including California and Massachusetts, have passed cage bans for egg-laying hens since 2018; this year, bans are set to take effect in Washington, Oregon and Michigan.
Converting to cage-free facilities is a big investment for farmers, and consumers may not always realize that’s a factor in the higher prices they see at the grocery, Metz said. She anticipates such conversion costs will eventually fall as more farms make the changeover.
Meanwhile, improving biosecurity measures should help blunt the impact of avian flu, Anderson said.