Egg prices have reached a record high in the U.S. and the Iowa Egg Council says bird flu is the biggest reason for the price jump .
ISU Extension poultry vet Yuko Sato says the market determines the cost of eggs. “One common misconception is people think that the egg prices are driven by what the farmers set the price on. They have no control over any of that, it’s basically what the commodity market is doing,” she says. Because farmers must destroy flocks if they’ve been infected by bird flu, some farmers are losing money.
Wholesale egg prices in the Midwest reached $5.27 a dozen last Wednesday. Iowa Egg Council CEO Mindy Larsen says the rising cost of labor, packaging, and shipping also impact egg prices at the grocery store. “Every single thing in our economy as a whole that impacts anything that you buy at the store is also going to impact eggs,” she says.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that overall grocery costs are roughly 20% higher than they were before the pandemic. Egg prices are expected to drop next year when flocks rebuild.
(By Lucia Cheng, Iowa Public Radio)