Egg prices have been skyrocketing in recent months, and you probably know we aren’t cracking any jokes when we say it has been a major problem.
Last month, the median cost of a dozen eggs in the U.S. was $4.25, more than double what it was around the same time last year and up 59% from prices in December, according a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In December, the average egg price in Delaware was $4.79, a 70% increase from the year before.
Hawaii, where most food has to be imported from outside the state, leads the U.S. with the most expensive eggs per dozen at $9.73. The second most expensive eggs could be found in Florida, at $6.36 per dozen.
Why egg prices have increased?
While inflation played a part in higher egg prices per carton, the main culprit of eggflation is an avian influenza that severely impacted chicken farmers in 2022 and affected 58 million birds across 47 states, according to the USDA.
In 2015, a similar outbreak affected 50 million birds across 21 states.
Earlier:Bird flu cases reported in Delaware; how you can protect yourself
Avian flu affects more than 100 bird species and spreads quickly. The mortality rate in chickens is 90% to 100%, according to the CDC.
Affected birds were culled and selectively slaughtered as a precaution to contain the outbreak, causing egg scarcity as stocks were decimated. To date, commercial layer facilities have reduced egg supply by around 7.5% per month.
Layers produce approximately 24 eggs per month, and layer depopulations slow egg production in subsequent months as facilities are sanitized and restocked. It takes four to five months for a young layer to reach peak productivity, which is delayed when an operation is impacted by avian influenza.
Cases typically fade by the summer, but 2022 saw new outbreaks coinciding with peak egg demand around the winter holiday season.
How did this affect Delaware farms?
In Delaware, one of the first states to the impacted, the first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial poultry operation was documented on Feb. 22, 2022, according to Stacey Hofmann, a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Agriculture.
1.4 million birds were affected in the spring and three farms were impacted by HPAI in Delaware. In the fall, a resurgence of the virus impacted two backyard flocks in Kent County, Hofmann said.
All impacted farms from the spring are back in production and Delaware producers are still following strict biosecurity protocols to keep the virus out of local flocks, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The holidays found many of us baking cookies and quiches, or whipping up breakfasts for guests.
More:Food banks bracing as pandemic SNAP benefits end in Delaware next month
Egg consumption has decreased since the then, and while this might sound like an occasion for eggsclamation, holiday demand is expected to increase again the closer we get to Easter in April, according to the USDA.
Impact of high egg prices
If this sounds like bad news for all you breakfast lovers who enjoy a daily serving of sunny-side-up eggs and the happy hour fanatics who love a good cocktail topped with egg white, you’re not the only ones feeling the pain.
Elizabeth Esther Café, located in Cobalt Manor in Smyrna, has seen egg prices triple in recent years thanks to inflation and avian influenza impacts.
Two years, owner Lindsay Powell-Conley could buy a case of eggs, which contains 7½ dozen, for around $20. Now, the price has increased to $60.
Although the café hasn’t changed menu offerings or prices to curb impacts of higher ingredient prices, Powell-Conley has had to resort to other means of picking up the cost.
“Where I cut everything is payroll,” she said. “Whenever I can pick up other shifts, I try to cover everything.”
On the day we reached out, Powell-Conley and the café’s cook were the only two employees clocking in for the day.
Powell-Conley also shops at several places to find the best deals on eggs, and other ingredients given recent price increases on other items such as butter and cream, to cut back on expenses.
“We try and do whatever we can,” she said.
Egg prices could decrease soon
Despite egg prices trending downward, it could be a while before cheaper eggs hit local shelves.
There haven’t been any new bird-flu outbreaks among commercial table-egg laying birds since Dec. 20, but cases in other types of birds still remain, according to the USDA.
Delaware is in the Atlantic Flyway, where birds migrate north and south, and an increased number of domestic poultry with HPAI has been reported in other Atlantic Flyway states, along with those that border the path. A dead snow goose found in Kent County was confirmed positive for HPAI on Jan. 16, said Hofmann.
The decline of bird-flu cases among table-egg laying birds has resulted in wholesale egg prices dipping.
Wholesale prices peaked around $5.43 in mid-December and have now fallen to $2.61 per dozen, a 47% decrease from prices at the beginning of the year.
This could result in lower prices for consumers doing their weekly shopping at supermarkets, especially given lower demand in retaliation of inflated prices, but the rate at which grocery store tags will catch up to wholesale values remains unknown.
If you have sick poultry or see increased mortality in your flock, contact the Delaware Poultry Health Hotline at poultry.health@delaware.gov or call 302-698-4507 and provide your contact information, flock size, location, and concerns.
