ORLANDO, Fla. – Chickens may not be able to fly very far, but the price of eggs is soaring.
A lingering bird flu outbreak, combined with soaring feed, fuel and labor costs, has led to U.S. egg prices more than doubling over the past year, and hatched a lot of sticker shock on grocery aisles.
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The national average price for a dozen eggs hit $3.59 in November, up from $1.72 a year earlier, according to the latest government data. That’s putting stress on consumer budgets and the bottom lines of restaurants, bakeries and other food producers that rely heavily on eggs.
Grocery prices that were up 12% in November are driving inflation higher, even though the overall pace of price increases slowed a bit through the fall as gas prices eased.
But egg prices are up significantly more than other foods — even more than chicken or turkey — because egg farmers were hit harder by the bird flu. More than 43 million of the 58 million birds slaughtered over the past year to control the virus have been egg-laying chickens, including some farms with more than a million birds apiece in major egg-producing states like Iowa.
Everyone who approaches the egg case a Hy-Vee grocery store in Omaha, “has a sour face,” said shopper Nancy Stom.
Rebecca Freeman owns Howey Homestead, a family farm in Lake County, where she’s going on four years of selling eggs locally. She said expensive egg prices have led to locals looking to her family’s business to save on the grocery staple.
Freeman said she first noticed the demand about five months ago.
“The phone was ringing off the hook,” Freeman said. “So, now we currently have a waiting list.”
Freeman and her husband, Matthew, tend to a flock of 23 hens at their farm in Howey-in-the-Hills. They get about 50 farm fresh eggs every week and that they now give to their regular customers. She said up until January 2021, they were charging $4 a dozen, but now they’ve risen the price to $5.
“Our long-time customers have no problem,” said Freeman. “They said they were paying $8-9 dollars at the grocery store.”
In some stores, eggs can be hard to find on the shelf. Experts said it’s the result of the ongoing bird flu epidemic in the U.S, and other factors that have resulted in production slumps and rising prices. Egg prices in December rose 60% from 2021, according to data released by the Consumer Price Index.
“Everybody takes them off the shelf, so I have problems finding stock,” Margo Bernath said. “When I do find them, the price is ridiculous.”
Margo Bernath runs a bakery “DragonFire Confections” out of her home in Howey-in-the-Hills. She says her costs have tripled. Eggs and butter are the backbone of her business.
“And, then I have to factor in gas to go around,” Bernath said. “I spend a lot on gas foraging, going to the local supermarkets.”
Bernath’s cottage-style bakery is not able to buy in bulk amounts like larger businesses either.
“They’re getting industrial shipments,” Bernath said. “Somebody like me, or any of the other cottage industries, we don’t have that supply line.”
Bernath said she’s doing the best she can to make her margins work. She estimates she’s taking a 20-30% hit right now, which she must factor in as she prepares to fill orders for Valentine’s Day.
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But even with the cost increases, eggs remain relatively cheap compared to the price of other proteins like chicken or beef, with a pound of chicken breasts going for $4.42 on average in November and a pound of ground beef selling for $4.85, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jada Thomson, a University of Arkansas agricultural economist, said there may be some relief coming in egg prices in the next couple months because egg farmers have been steadily replacing their flocks lost to bird flu last year and demand will ease a bit now that people are done with their holiday baking.
But she said bird flu remains a wildcard that could still drive prices higher if there are more sizeable outbreaks at egg farms.
Farmers are doing all they can to limit the spread, but the disease is easily spread by migrating wild birds and the virus can be picked up on clothing or vehicles.
“But there are some things that are just outside of our control,” Thompson said. “You can’t control nature sometimes.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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