What the Cluck?: Egg shortage leads to prices on the rise in America

The Avian Flu pandemic is affecting farms across the country leading to mass inflation. The demand is causing Americans to have a harder time finding eggs in stores along with prices continuing to rise.  

Before 2022 egg prices were around $1.78, the price of eggs at the end of December 2022 reached its highest price being $4.25. The problem with this price increase lies with Americans consuming more eggs over the years with the highest being 293.4 eggs consumed per capita in 2020. 

The increase in Americans consuming eggs increased the demand to produce more egg-laying chickens. There are two types of commercial poultry that we consume, broilers, which are chickens born specifically for meat consumption and egg types are chickens born solely to lay eggs. 

According to data from the USDA in December of 2021, the number of egg-laying chickens in America was around 392 million. Compared to the number in January of this year we see that egg-laying chickens went down to about 374 million with the reports indicating a 5% drop from the previous year. 

November of 2022, the U.S. was hit with a devastating case of Avian flu which has decimated over 50.54 million birds all over the country. The Avian Flu is transmitted by non-poultry birds like wild ducks and is contagious with farmers often having to cull entire flocks to keep the flu from spreading to healthy birds. 

While many would point fingers at the Avian flu as being the main reason for the price inflation of eggs others are not so convinced by this narrative. Farm Action A farmer-led advocacy group is calling upon FTC to launch an investigation into what they believe is a plot by egg producers to purposely increase the price of eggs to make a larger profit.

In their letter, Farm Action claims that egg producers are gouging the prices of eggs and are simply overexaggerating the effect of the Avian Flu, “Contrary to industry narratives, the increase in the price of eggs has not been an “Act of God” — it has been simple profiteering. For the 26-week period ending on November 26, 2022, Cal-Maine reported a ten-fold year-over-year increase in gross profits — from $50.392 million to $535.339 million — and a five-fold increase in its gross margins.28 Notably, Cal-Maine’s gross profits increased in lockstep with rising egg prices through every quarter of the year — going from nearly $92 million in the quarter ending on February 26, 2022, to approximately $195 million in the quarter ending on May 28, 2022, to more than $217 million in the quarter ending on August 27, 2022, to just under $318 million in the quarter ending on November 26, 2022.29 The company’s gross margins likewise increased steadily, from a little over 19 percent in the first quarter of 2022 (a 45 percent year-over-year increase) to nearly 40 percent in the last quarter of 2022 (a 345 percent year-over-year increase).30” 

Whatever the case may be, the fact of the matter is that farmers will need to replenish the number of egg-laying chickens, “Producers need to replace the lost layers. It takes a layer 20+ weeks to start laying eggs from the day they are hatched, so that’s about four to six months. It also depends on the other factors above. If more flocks are hit, inflation increases and demand continues to rise, then this could last longer.” says AgriLife Extension Specialists and associate professor of A&M’s Department of poultry, Gregory Archer. 

In the meantime, many Americans are already looking for alternative ways to obtain eggs at a cheaper cost. Raising chickens saw an upward spike in google searches in November of last year, and while some may see this as an uncomplicated way to circumvent the soaring prices of eggs when looking at the cost that is associated with raising chickens holding out for prices to lower may seem like the better option.  

Others have tried more unscrupulous methods of getting eggs at a cheaper price at any cost though the risks outweigh the benefits. According to Customs Border Protection fines for smuggling in agriculture products range to about $1,000 for the first-time offense with the fine increasing if you are caught doing it again.