USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins mentioned wholesale egg prices happening after a nationwide outbreak of fowl flu throughout Thursday’s Cupboard assembly on the White Home with President Donald Trump. (Credit score: Pool)
Egg lovers are scrambling as costs might have cracked all-time highs forward of Easter, however federal officers say aid is already on the way in which.
In keeping with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the common worth of a dozen eggs hit $6.23 in March, up practically 6% from February, and greater than 60% increased than a 12 months in the past. However behind the scenes, a pointy drop in wholesale prices is setting the stage for a rebound on the checkout counter.
“Wholesale prices of eggs … are down, depending on who you’re looking at, between 50 and 65%,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated throughout a press gaggle exterior the White Home Thursday. “We’ve said all along the retail prices will just take a while to catch up … but we feel very confident that will continue to come back down.”
The dramatic drop in wholesale costs, from highs of over $8 per dozen in February to round $3.26 in early April, is the results of what the USDA calls a “five-pronged strategy” to deal with each avian flu and market volatility.
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY DOESN’T EXPECT EGG PRICES TO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE AFTER TRUMP TARIFF ANNOUNCEMENT
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins seems to be on as President Donald Trump indicators govt orders within the Oval Workplace of the White Home Wednesday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
“Secretary Rollins is committed to lowering egg prices for consumers and continues to use all tools at her disposal to do so,” a USDA spokesperson confirmed in an unique assertion to FOX Enterprise. “After implementing a five-pronged plan to lower egg prices a little over a month ago, the wholesale price of eggs has dropped more than 56%. It takes several weeks for a wholesale price reduction to be felt in the retail market. That is why we must remain diligent. The plan is working.”
The USDA’s five-pronged plan contains strengthening biosecurity on farms to forestall additional fowl flu outbreaks, rising indemnity funds to assist farmers repopulate flocks sooner and reducing regulatory purple tape to increase egg provide and velocity up supply.
It additionally invests $100 million in avian flu analysis and vaccine improvement, whereas quickly increasing imports, together with from Turkey and South Korea, to ease strain on home provide.
A THIRD OF AMERICANS STOPPED BUYING EGGS; WON’T REVERT BACK UNTIL PRICES DROP
Nationwide Safety Advisor Michael Waltz, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins in the course of the signing of govt orders within the Oval Workplace on the White Home Wednesday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
The sharp rise in egg costs this 12 months was pushed largely by a extreme outbreak of extremely pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which swept by way of poultry farms in early 2025. To include the unfold, tens of millions of egg-laying hens had been culled throughout a number of main producing states, considerably decreasing the nationwide provide. In keeping with USDA knowledge, the outbreak in 2025 has been some of the disruptive for the reason that virus reemerged in U.S. flocks in 2022, with business layer operations hit particularly arduous.
Rollins, talking alongside Trump throughout Thursday’s Cupboard assembly, credited the broader financial agenda for supporting rural America in the course of the transition.
“This president has a vision of realigning the American economy to ensure that we are putting America first,” she stated. “We believe that these changes will, in short order, create unlimited and unprecedented prosperity for our farmers. … But, if not, the USDA is there in the short term to ensure — just as we did in term one — that our farmers are taken care of.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, heart, speaks throughout a Cupboard assembly on the White Home in Washington, D.C., Thursday. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
With Easter simply forward, Rollins known as it the “Super Bowl of eggs.” The USDA and the White Home are betting the current wholesale plunge will quickly present up on grocery retailer cabinets.
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With egg costs excessive this Easter, many People are getting inventive. Some households are skipping actual eggs altogether and dyeing objects like marshmallows and potatoes as a substitute.
Others are turning to reusable choices like plastic or wood eggs from craft shops. These might be adorned similar to actual eggs and saved for future years.
“Eggs are down big, right?” Trump requested throughout his Cupboard assembly Thursday.
