The rise in egg prices is the largest price increase in roughly a decade, pushing annual prices up to 53 percent. 280 eggs are consumed in a year by an average person in America. However,due to the recent national bird flu outbreak, more chickens have been deemed as sick and had to be euthanized to prevent a potential flu spread. As of January, egg prices have jumped up to 15.2 percent as a consequence of the flu spread. Going to a market and buying a dozen eggs will cost roughly $7 to $10, whereas before, a dozen eggs would’ve been around $4.00.
Farmers have been trying several methods to preserve their chickens and keep them healthy. Egg farms have had to invest millions of dollars into biosecurity, and controlling this virus has become more challenging. Egg farmers have also had to face higher feeding, and labor costs, contributing to the price increase. Last month, more than 23 million birds had to be culled. Consumer prices rose up to 3% for the first time since last June, largely driven by the cost of eggs.
The egg shortage has caused the price of eggs to rise month after month, and major grocery stores, such as Costco, have even put a limit on how many customers can buy. At some stores, eggs are sold out in minutes. Restaurants are also charging $1 per egg for customers, such as IHOP and Waffle House.
At a Seattle cafe, thieves stole 540 eggs;, this was after a massive egg robbery in Pennsylvania where 100,000 eggs were stolen from a distributor.
When the price of eggs rises, it could lead to higher costs for other products that use eggs as an ingredient, such as baked goods and processed foods. This will eventually start increasing the overall price of restaurants and markets. Many companies will have to increase the prices of their products in order to manage the price of the eggs that they buy. Some places reduce the amount of eggs that they use, and utilize substitutes instead, like potato starch, tapioca, yogurt, and buttermilk.
A student at Mark Keppel High School named Mackayla Ramos says that she uses eggs to bake her cakes to sell at school, but had to raise the prices because she spends too much money on eggs. “It sucks to raise my prices, but what else could I do when the product that I use to make it is so expensive”, she says.
This increase in costs affects many people because eggs are in high demand in America. Higher food prices affect people’s income, especially grocery prices. Inflation is at an all time high compared to 2024, seeming as we are early into the new year. According to Trading Economics on United States Inflation Rate the annual inflation rate in the US rose up to 3% in the month of January 2025 compared to the 2.9% in December 2024. Inflation is a problem because it affects costs and the standard of living for people. As prices rise on groceries and other necessities it is hard for people to save their money and to be able to afford money on other things that they need to pay for. Inflation is always unpredictable because the increase in prices could change depending on what is going on in the economy. A low, steady or predictable level of inflation is considered positive for an economy since it signals growth and healthy demand for goods and services. Inflation affects taxes, government spending and programs, groceries, gas, the level of interest rates and more.
