The price of eggs is expected to soar yet again, with an avian flu outbreak fuelling the latest round of inflation.
“Seemingly every day there is another announced infection site, which not only physically reduces the actual number of egg layers, but also casts a negative psychology over the entire egg market,” Kevin Bergquist, Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute sector manager, said. “The reaction to supply stress is price increase.”
The best part of 100 million birds were culled across 2022 and 2023 in an attempt to curtail the flu. October 2023 saw 1.4 million killed, while November saw a whopping 8 million. There were over 4 million slaughtered in the early part of December alone.
The height of the outbreak comes at a time when demand for eggs increases, around Christmas.
“Christmas is one of the times where egg consumption goes up for holiday meals, the eggnog and all that kind of stuff,” said Yuko Sato, a poultry veterinarian at Iowa State. “So naturally, every year, the egg prices go up during Christmastime or holiday season.”