Just a year after egg prices finally started to come down after soaring to record highs in 2022, the staple grocery item is getting more expensive again—and the trend isn't likely to reverse anytime soon, following a new bird flu outbreak.
Egg prices increased a notable 8.4% from January 2024 to February 2024, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
To be clear, eggs still aren't nearly as pricey as they were a year ago. The CPI report revealed that the grocery item was actually 17% less expensive in February 2024 compared to February 2023.
Consumers, unfortunately, aren't likely to see relief from egg sticker shock anytime soon as poultry producers throughout the United States contend with a new surge of bird flu.
The culled birds represented 3.6% of the company's total flock as of March 2024, according to a press release.
The company stressed that no eggs have been recalled and there is no known bird flu risk with eggs that are currently on the market.
Michigan's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced earlier this week that it found evidence of bird flu at a commercial facility, while farms in Texas, Kansas, and Minnesota also detected the virus last month, per CNN.
Bird flu can spread rapidly through poultry flocks, and farms will often slaughter scores of birds to prevent transmission. As past bird flu outbreaks have demonstrated, egg producers can have trouble keeping up with demand after culling large numbers of birds, causing egg prices to surge as a result.