Egg prices are rising again. An outbreak of bird flu could make things worse

Egg prices have now been steadily rising for months and your daily omelette could continue to become more expensive as poultry farms around the country deal with an outbreak of bird flu.

Egg prices have now been steadily rising for months, and your omelette could become even more expensive as poultry farms around the country deal with an outbreak of bird flu. The average price of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $3 in February, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, up from around $2 in the fall. While egg prices are down from a record $4.82 in January 2023 — after a widespread bird flu outbreak ravaged farms in the prior year — they’re now at the highest level since April 2023. And it may not get better anytime soon. Cal-Maine Foods, America’s largest egg producer, said earlier this week that it culled about 1.6 million hens and 337,000 young chickens after some tested positive for a “highly pathogenic avian influenza” at one of the company’s facilities in Texas, Cal-Maine said in a release. The company produces brands such as Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, Egg-Land’s Best and Land O’ Lakes eggs. “Production at the facility has temporarily ceased,” the company said. “[The virus] is still present in the wild bird population and the extent of possible future outbreaks, with heightened risk during the migration seasons, cannot be predicted.” As egg prices reached a record early last year, Cal-Maine, which controls about 20% of the market, reported a few months later that its revenue doubled and profit surged 718%.