OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Egg prices hit a record high as the U.S. contends with an ongoing bird flu outbreak, but consumers didn’t need government figures released
Wednesday (Feb. 12, 2025) to tell them eggs are terribly expensive and hard to find at times.
The latest monthly consumer price index showed that the average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in U.S. cities reached $4.95 in January, eclipsing the previous
record of $4.82 set two years earlier and more than double the low of $2.04 that was recorded in August 2023.
The spike in egg prices was the biggest since the nation’s last bird flu outbreak in 2015 and accounted for roughly two-thirds of the total increase in food costs
last month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Of course, that is only the nationwide average. A carton of eggs can cost $10 or more in some places. And specialized varieties, such as organic and
cage-free eggs, are even more expensive.
Relief is not expected any time soon. Egg prices typically spike around Easter due to high holiday demand. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture
predicted last month that egg prices were likely to go up 20% this year.
Even if shoppers can afford eggs, they may have difficulty finding them at times. Some grocers are having trouble keeping their shelves stocked,
and customers are encountering surcharges and limits on how many cartons they can buy at a time.
The Agriculture Department says more than 23 million birds were slaughtered last month and more than 18 million were killed in December to
limit the spread of the bird flu virus. Those numbers include turkeys and chickens raised for meat, but the vast majority of them were egg-laying chickens.