The average price of a dozen eggs in USA reached the record of $ 4.95 in January this year, an increase of 19% compared to the previous month, according to the Office of Labor Statistics (BLS). Since last year, the average cost of that food had a progressive increase and, according to analysts and officials, it cannot be assured that in the short term the trend will be reversed. What is happening and what actions are the government of Donald Trump taking?
A little over a year ago, the dozen eggs cost US $ 2.51 in USA. By November 2024, US $ 3.65 was already worth, and in December it experienced a 14% increase to reach US $ 4.15. This product has become one of the main causes of the unexpected rebound in the inflation In the country.
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He United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it expects that The current record prices of eggs could increase by more than 40% this yearaccording to information from the AP News agency.
In some supermarkets there are no eggs and others They have restricted the amount that each client can buy to avoid hoarding and resaleaccording to a recent BBC World report.
The AFP agency realized that in some New York supermarkets People are choosing to buy the eggs per unit. He even cited a study published on Thursday indicating that in this city the average price of a dozen eggs reached $ 8.47.
“They are very expensive. I’ve been in this business for forty years and I had never seen the price of eggs so high ”, The owner of Pamela’s Green Deli, a New York store told AFP.
A sign that limits the purchase of eggs to three is exhibited on the empty shelves of a Costco wholesale store in Hawthorne, California, on February 10, 2025. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP photo).
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These are the keys that explain the increase in the price of eggs.
1.- Avian flu
Since 2022, USA experience an outbreak of Aviar fludisease caused in birds by the H5N1 virus. It is highly contagious and is transmitted from bird to bird. In addition, it can be transmitted to other animal species, such as equine, pigs and canines.
A rooster for sale at the Wabash Feed & Garden store in Houston, Texas, on February 10, 2025. (Photo by Moisés Ávila / AFP).
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Currently, there are outbreaks Aviar flu In California, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, according to the Department of Agriculture.
He USDA He informed that between November and December last year Aviar flu He killed 17.2 million laying hens, almost half of all dead birds in the virus in 2024.
As part of the fight to contain the disease, More than 166 million birds have been sacrificed.
Only since January of this year, 30 million laying chickens were sacritedsomething that interrupted the supply of eggs in a sigbificative way.
The number of laying hens in the United States has fallen by 12%, according to an estimate of the USDA of February 1.
According to the AP agency, the massive sacrifice of birds is a long -standing policy of the Department of Agriculture to neutralize the H5N1 virus.
2.- Speculation?
A client buys a bag of three eggs in a “winery” in the Bronx neighborhood, in New York, on February 27, 2025. (Photo by Charly Triballeau / AFP).
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To before the aviar flu outbreak, For years the price of the dozen eggs remained below 2 dollars.
Last week, the United States Department of Justice opened an investigation into possible antitrust problems related to the increase in egg pricethe CNBC chain reported.
The sources of that medium told him that the investigation Includes an analysis of whether egg producers have worked together to increase prices or reduce supply.
Last month, the defense group focused on food Farm Action He sent a letter to the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission where he requested an investigation into the price of eggs.
Farm Action points out that egg production has barely decreased by 4% since last year.
“Egg dominant corporations are blaming the flu avian for the price increases we are seeing. But while the supply of eggs has fallen only slightly, the profits of these companies have increased, ”Angela Huffman, president of Farm Action, told Angela.
The AP agency said that most dominant producers are private companies and do not publish their results. But the largest, Cal-Maine Foods, which supplies 20% of the country’s eggs, is public, and its profits increased drastically. The company reported a gain of 219 million dollars in the last quarter, when its eggs were sold to an average of $ 2.74 per dozen, compared to just 1.2 million dollars in the quarter just before this outbreak began in the early 2022, when their eggs were sold to $ 1.37 per dozen.
3.- The actions announced by the Government
He Department of Agriculture announced a five -phase plan to increase the Biosafety on farms and Help quickly recover affected poultry farmers.
Specically, the Government will allocate US $ 500 million to help improve the biosafety measures of wildlife to try to maintain the Aviar flu Out of the farms.
In addition, US $ 400 million will be allocated to reimburse farmers who have losen their birds.
The Agriculture Department is exploring the use of vaccines and new therapies to deal with avian flu. For this purpose, US $ 100 million will be invested.
The United States will reduce regulations on egg producers and “facilitate families to raise chickens in their courtyards.”
The government will study the temporal import of eggs to reduce prices.
4.- What has Trump said?
The President Donald Trump He blamed his predecessor last week, Joe Biden, for the high price of eggs.
“Joe Biden in particular let the price of eggs get out of control, and we are working hard to lower it again,” Trump said during his first speech against Congress.
