Egg costs decline for first time in months amid avian flu outbreak

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins discusses the Trump administration’s efforts to decrease egg costs on “The Bottom Line.”

Egg costs declined in April for the primary time in months after shortages attributable to an avian flu outbreak brought about costs to surge. The mere process of buying a grocery retailer staple grew to become a political flashpoint throughout final yr’s election.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) launched its shopper value index report for April on Tuesday, displaying egg costs declined by 12.7% in comparison with the prior month. That adopted month-to-month will increase of 10.4% in February and 5.9% in March. The final decline in egg costs was recorded in October.

BLS knowledge confirmed the typical value of a dozen grade A big eggs was about $5.12 in April, down from practically $6.23 in March and $5.90 in February. April’s costs have been the bottom since January, once they averaged $4.95 a dozen, which was the final time they have been beneath $5. Costs stay properly above the place they have been final April, when BLS knowledge confirmed they have been about $2.86 a dozen.

The continued avian flu outbreak started in 2022, and in 2023, the Animal and Plant Well being Data Service throughout the U.S. Division of Agriculture (USDA) declared it to be the “largest and longest outbreak in the history of the United States.” 

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The H5N1 avian flu has affected 168 million birds across the nation. As a result of extremely contagious nature of the virus, flocks are sometimes euthanized of their entirety as soon as the virus is detected.

BLS knowledge exhibits that in 2021, earlier than the outbreak started, the typical value of grade A big eggs was beneath $1.80 per dozen all year long. Egg costs surged to $4.82 a dozen by January 2023 earlier than declining to close $2, then step by step rising in 2024 and early 2025 till the newest peak in March.

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An indication notes a restrict on egg purchases at a grocery retailer in Manhattan Seashore, Calif., on Jan. 2, 2025. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Photographs)

The rise in egg costs occurred amid the backdrop of total inflation hitting a 40-year excessive in 2022. That made the problem a focus of the 2024 presidential election, with President Donald Trump criticizing then-President Joe Biden and Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris over their dealing with of the outbreak.

After Trump’s election victory, his administration rolled out a plan to struggle excessive egg costs that was led by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. She signaled that the U.S. would look to import eggs within the brief time period to assist increase provide as home egg producers handled the results of the outbreak. The plan additionally concerned deregulation, biosecurity investments, repopulating fowl and investing in vaccines and therapeutic analysis.

A report by the USDA that was launched on Friday confirmed that imports of eggs and liquid egg merchandise have risen to assist mitigate the home scarcity and value will increase, which have in flip boosted inventories.

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“Overall imports of shell and egg products rose 3 percent in March with an 18 percent increase in value driven by efforts to supplement shell and egg products in the domestic market due to reduced production resulting from persistent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the first two months of the year,” the USDA wrote.

“Imports of table shell eggs increased 257 percent as with two additional nations, Brazil and Honduras, shipping shell eggs to the U.S. in addition to Turkey and Mexico,” the report famous. “Imports of liquid egg products increased 11 percent for the month; 32 percent over year ago levels as both China and Thailand more than doubled their volumes from the prior month. Imports of liquid yolk increased 29 percent as Canada increased their shipments.”

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Regardless of these efforts, the USDA report famous that egg costs stay at comparatively excessive ranges for customers in contrast with historic developments.

“Price levels to the consumer have eased considerably from early-year highs but remain at levels not yet conducive to more than normal purchases needs as consumers are slow to adjust to what may be the new near-term norm,” the company wrote.

FOX Enterprise’ Taylor Penley contributed to this report.