Egg prices are hitting records, driven by an avian-influenza outbreak that has killed tens of millions of chickens and turkeys this year across nearly all 50 states.
Wholesale prices of Midwest large eggs hit a record $5.36 a dozen in December, according to the research firm Urner Barry. Retail egg prices have increased more than any other supermarket item so far this year, climbing more than 30% from January to early December compared with the same period a year earlier, and outpacing overall food and beverage prices, according to the data firm Information Resources Inc.
For supermarkets, eggs are a staple product that most consumers pick up on trips to the grocery store, similar to milk and butter. To maintain store traffic, grocers said they have been sacrificing some profits on eggs to keep prices for consumers competitive. Some suppliers are projecting potential relief in price by February or March, but cold weather could hamper production in the near term, executives said.
“We are trying to keep eggs relatively accessible,” said Dan O’Neill, director of center store and perishables at Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets, a chain of eight stores in Illinois.
Angelo Caputo’s bought extra-large eggs for $5.09 a dozen recently, up from $1.30 at the start of the year, Mr. O’Neill said. The grocer has for months been selling eggs for slightly above cost, he said, as wholesale prices have increased.
Grocery prices have continued to increase this year because of what companies have said are higher costs of labor, ingredients and logistics, helping supermarkets generate higher sales and profits. Those factors have propelled egg prices, too. As eggs get more costly, some supermarkets are selling more organic eggs that are sometimes less expensive than conventional varieties, while suppliers say consumer demand has remained steady despite higher prices.
Cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have so far this year led to the deaths of about 58 million birds, the deadliest outbreak in U.S. history, according to Agriculture Department data. Entire poultry flocks are destroyed after an infection is confirmed, to help limit the outbreak’s spread.
More than 40 million egg-laying chickens have died in the current outbreak, according to USDA data, with the total supply of egg-laying chickens falling more than 5%—to about 308 million—from the start of January to December.
Despite a tight egg supply and high prices, shortages are still a long way off, said Emily Metz, chief executive of the American Egg Board, which represents egg producers. Egg supplies have been more stable this year compared with the previous major U.S. avian-influenza outbreak, in 2015, she said, as the time it takes for farms to recover from an outbreak has shrunk to roughly three months from six to nine months. (SOURCE)
