Egg prices have risen across the United States by roughly 38 percent over the past year, mainly attributed to an outbreak of avian influenza, also known as bird flu. The virus has spread to all 50 U.S. states over the past two years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
by Matthew Rusling
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. egg prices are skyrocketing, and it remains unknown when or whether they will go back down.
Egg prices have risen across the nation by roughly 38 percent over the past year. That brought the average cost of a dozen eggs to 3.65 U.S. dollars in November, from 2.14 dollars during the same month a year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index data.
Moreover, some cities have seen prices accelerate above the average. In New York, the price for a dozen eggs increased to 6.06 dollars. In the southern state of California, the price rose to as high as 8.97 dollars as of early January. In some areas, eggs are not available on store shelves.
The situation has been mainly attributed to an outbreak of avian influenza, also known as bird flu. The virus has spread to all 50 U.S. states over the past two years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Over 20 million chickens died last quarter due to the outbreak, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
This has driven up egg prices, and it remains unknown when the country will see relief.
Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told Xinhua: "As yet, there is no solution for bird flu, so it seems likely that egg prices will go higher."
Moreover, many economists expect food inflation -- at record highs even before the outbreak -- to remain elevated.
"I expect food inflation to remain a problem," Hufbauer said.
Energy inflation has also made it more expensive to transport food and get products onto store shelves, with the price of gas in the United States higher than pre-COVID levels.
To make things more complicated, a handful of states, including Washington, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona and Massachusetts, have enacted legislation to house egg-laying chickens in more humane conditions, rather than confining them in tiny spaces where they cannot move. Compliance with such laws can make eggs more expensive, experts said.
Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, told Xinhua: "Nothing can be done about the current (bird flu) outbreak, but we could prevent future ones with more monitoring."
The longer the problem persists, the more it could hurt President-elect Donald Trump, who is slated to take office Monday, experts said.
"If food prices remain high and there are shortages, it will create big problems for him," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.■
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