Consumers in United States are coping with egg inflation and are laying the blame at the door of bird flu. 

According to a BBC report on January 16, 2025, U.S.’ egg prices soared in December 2024 by 36% vis-á-vis December 2023.

Although the avian flu has spurred the rise by occasioning shortage, the situation also owes to overall food inflation in the U.S.

The Feds did manage to stabilize consumer prices but could not contain food inflation. Food prices went on to spike by 2.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) in December 2024.

Inflation, which describes a rise in commodity prices, has nevertheless cooled since it reached a high of 9% in 2022.

Steep Prices

Figures show quite an unnatural price curve for eggs. According to USA Today, while a dozen averaged $3.65 in November 2024, its antedecessor was only $2.14 in November 2023.

Indeed, prices had stagnated at $2.30 a dozen in January 2024 after a 2023 production increase by 3%.

Experts cite that despite federal pricing generally remaining the same, it often deviates across states.

One such deviation is in New York, where wholesale large eggs cost as much as $6.25 to the dozen around January 10, 2025. California in its part reported $8.97 for the same large-shelled dozen.

Restaurants Offish 

Some restaurants on the other hand are staying afloat by charging an extra dollar for each dish containing breakfast eggs.

Restauranteurs in Colorado are now overcharging the giant burrito, a Mexican tortilla, which normally costs $7.49 as one ingredient gets short.

One dining venue owner cites that some years back they could get 15-egg boxes at just $25 but now pay $88.

So, whether avian flu or core inflation has a direct impact on egg inflation in the United States, one fact is certain: prices are sharp. But as the data below illustrates, this is not happening for the first time.

United States Egg Inflation History Statistics

Before 2003, egg prices in the U.S. were always shy of $1, finally reaching $0.990 per dozen, in July 2002. Since then, there have always followed inflation trends above the $1-mark. As such, data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows four rough stages in American egg pricing history between 2004 and 2024. 

Stage 1 2004-2008: while January 2004 began at $1.20 per dozen, the same dozen would go down to $1.06 in 2005 and 2006. It would then shoot to $2.20 in March 2008. The rise in 2008 coincided with a time when the American economy was facing inflation headwinds. This was in turn due to increasing oil prices by 50% in early 2008, which spilled over to food prices.

Stage 2 2009-2015: prices ameliorated to between $1.50 a dozen in 2009 and $1.97 in 2014 before sharply rising to $2.97 in 2015. Despite a slowdown in 2015’s inflation, food prices nevertheless rose that year even when other commodities grew cheap.  In spite of very low oil prices pushing down inflation to just a low of 0.1%, food prices appreciated by 1.9% in 2015. This according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Stage 3 2016 to 2024: unlike other stages above, the 2016-2024 period has had the most price swings, perhaps due to bird flu. While 2016 saw prices at just $1.49 a dozen, 2018 recorded them at $2.08, 2019 at $1.20 and 2023 at $4.82. Since 2023 when bird flu landed on U.S. shores, egg inflation has dogged the sector up to the December 2024 price of $4.15.