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egg production According to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), egg prices in the US fell by 4% in November and bird flu cases are rising across the country.
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service announced that egg production for the month of November totaled 8.92 billion, down 4% from the same period last year.
Of the 8.92 billion eggs produced, 7.68 billion were table eggs and 1.24 billion were hatching eggs, the main difference being that hatching eggs are unfertilized and incapable of becoming a chick.
Additionally, in November, there were 376 million laying eggs, down 3% from last year, and for every 100 layers, an average of 2,374 eggs were produced.
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Test tubes labeled “Bird Flu” and eggs are visible in this photo illustration. (Reuters/Dado Ruvik/Reuters Photos)
Since November, the number of layers has declined even more, with the USDA reporting a total of 375 million layers as of December 1, 2024, down 3% from last year.
The news comes as egg prices are rising, a trend that industry experts say will continue through 2025 if highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as “bird flu” infections, persist.
Kevin Bergquist, sector manager at the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, said egg prices are set to rise through 2023 due to a combination of seasonal price increases during the holidays and disruptions in egg supply due to bird flu.
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Modern poultry farm for breeding white chickens and eggs, multi-level conveyor, indoor, copy space, poultry farming (iStock/iStock)
According to Bergquist, prices last year “generally” remained above 2023 prices and even “often exceeded egg prices from 2022, when HPAI really took over the egg market.”
Wholesale egg prices, which rose nearly 55% in November, do not necessarily reflect consumer eggs. prices at the grocery store, which can vary widely.
According to the Consumer Price Index, grocery prices rose 0.5% in November, with costs for four of the six major grocery store food groups increasing. The price of eggs saw the biggest increase by a wide margin.
Egg prices are high and will continue to be until 2025
A woman’s hand packing eggs in a supermarket (iStock/iStock)
Meat, poultry and fish prices rose 1.7% in November, but egg prices rose 8.2%.
Before a large-scale bird flu outbreak According to Bergquist, in March 2022, flock numbers were at a level that supported low egg prices. He said the wholesale price was less than $1.50 a dozen.
However, the outbreak disrupted the market, leading to record egg prices in December 2022. The average price dropped to lower levels through 2023 as producers rebuilt their herds.
When bird flu re-emerged in late 2023 and 2024, flock sizes were again disrupted, resulting in short supply to the egg market, Bergquist said.
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Producers have still not been able to rebuild total laying flocks due to resurgent outbreaks this year.
Fox Business’ Daniela Genovese contributed to this report.
