The price of a staple grocery item has soared in the last twelve months: eggs.
Americans eat between 250-280 eggs a year on average.
In December 2022, the national average price of a dozen Grade A eggs increased to $4.25, up from $1.93 in January 2022. The egg prices doubled in 2022.
2022 was a notably severe year for inflation. The Economist reported in December 2022 that the global inflation rate finished at 9%. In the United States, consumer prices rose by about 7% in 2022.
COVID-19 had lingering impacts on supply chains, worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s blockades of wheat exports from Ukraine restricted the global supply of grains used for feed.
The export blockade drove up prices for farmers to feed their chickens and soaring energy prices added a financial burden for farmers operating their farms.
Another major factor in the increase in egg prices is the Avian flu. There were two waves of infection, February to June and September to December 2022. Approximately 44 million hens or about 1 in 10 hens from the pre-outbreak population, died.
According to the New York Times, farmers had to clear infected flocks, clean their facilities, purchase new hens, and wait for them to lay eggs. As a result, American egg inventories were 29% lower in December 2022 than at the beginning of the year.
Even as the American egg supply has dwindled and prices have risen, demand has persisted.
“Higher demand leading up to the holidays and the impact of avian flu caused tighter supply,” said a Walmart spokesperson.
Some Americans have come up with alternatives to buying eggs at the grocery store. Some are attempting to purchase hens that are “heavy layers” to have their in-home egg supply. Others have even tried to buy eggs in Mexico, which is significantly cheaper, and smuggle eggs at the border.
Egg prices are likely to remain high in the first half of 2023. While containing avian flu will be an ongoing challenge, suppliers will increase production and prices may cool off.
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