SACRAMENTO: Egg prices in the United States have hit record highs, reaching an average of US$8.11 per dozen as of Wednesday, a 53 per cent increase from a year earlier, as a devastating bird flu outbreak continues to decimate the country’s egg-laying hen population, reported Xinhua.
The current highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak, which began in 2022, has forced farmers to kill approximately 166 million laying hens over the past three years, according to US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The crisis intensified in early 2025, with about 18.8 million commercial egg layers affected by HPAI in January alone—the highest monthly total since the outbreak began.
“Egg prices are skyrocketing, and it isn’t simply a matter of inflation,” Rollins wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece this week.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects more pain ahead for consumers. In its February Food Price Outlook, the agency predicts egg prices will increase by 41.1 per cent in 2025, with a prediction interval ranging from 15.0 per cent to 74.9 per cent.
This drastic price surge is having ripple effects across the food industry. Restaurant chain Waffle House has implemented a 50-cent surcharge per egg, while retailers like Costco and Trader Joe’s have begun limiting egg purchases per customer.
Consumers in high-cost regions like New York and California are experiencing even steeper prices, with some paying as much as US$9 or more for a dozen eggs, according to think tank Open Markets Institute.
The farm-level impact is even more volatile, with wholesale egg prices experiencing a 31.4 per cent increase between December 2024 and January 2025 alone. Farm-level egg prices in January 2025 were a staggering 183.7 per cent higher than in January 2024, according to USDA data.
The Donald Trump administration announced a five-point strategy earlier this week to combat the egg crisis, pledging up to US$1 billion in relief measures.
Rollins’ plan includes dedicating US$500 million to enhance biosecurity measures at poultry farms, providing US$400 million in financial relief to affected farmers, and allocating US$100 million for vaccine research.
The strategy also aims to reduce regulatory burdens on producers, including examining “overly prescriptive state laws” like California’s Proposition 12 while exploring temporary egg imports that meet US safety standards to reduce costs in the short term.
A key component of the administration’s strategy involves sourcing eggs from overseas markets. Türkiye has emerged as the primary supplier, with the Egg Producers Central Union in Türkiye announcing plans to export 420 million eggs to the United States this year, according to CNN. This represents a nearly six-fold increase from the 71 million eggs imported from Türkiye in 2024.
The USDA confirmed it is in talks with several other countries to secure additional egg imports as part of its short-term solution to the crisis.
Earlier in February, the USDA had to revoke termination letters it sent to workers supporting the bird flu response.
Some industry observers argue that the problem extends beyond the current administration to broader structural issues in the U.S. food system. The Open Markets Institute points to industry consolidation as exacerbating both the spread of disease and price volatility.