Thanksgiving dinner may cost roughly the same as last year, but one ingredient is dramatically impacting grocery bills: eggs, CNN reports.
A combination of persistent avian flu outbreaks and surging holiday demand has sent egg prices skyrocketing, leaving consumers facing significantly higher costs.
According to the Consumer Price Index, egg prices jumped 30.4% in October compared to the same month last year.
The primary culprit is the ongoing avian flu epidemic. Since January 2022, the highly pathogenic virus has devastated the poultry industry, killing an estimated 108 million birds, including 75 million egg-laying hens, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. This represents an 8% reduction in the national egg supply.
The situation worsened last month with a resurgence of avian flu cases, resulting in the deaths of 2.8 million egg-laying birds in Oregon, Utah, and Washington—key egg-producing states. The USDA projects this loss will translate to approximately 60 million fewer eggs. Furthermore, the USDA has revised its egg supply forecast downward for the first quarter of 2025, suggesting prices are unlikely to fall anytime soon.
The price surge is impacting all egg types. Commodity egg prices have risen to the point where they are nearly equivalent to organic eggs. This price parity could further strain supply, as consumers often opt for organic or pasteurized eggs during the holidays, believing they enhance the taste of their dishes. The increased demand for these premium options, coupled with the already tight supply, is expected to exacerbate the price increases.
