Affordable food matters to everyone. Egg prices may be up, but they remain a great value. Cost per serving, it’s hard to beat the high-quality protein of eggs for cooking, baking and everyday meals.

A dozen large eggs is 1.5 pounds of high-quality protein that is versatile and delicious. Even in this time of higher prices, the nutrition value of eggs remains a great value. Eggs are an all-around nutrient powerhouse, with high-quality protein and essential vitamins and minerals for healthy living like choline, vitamin B12, and iodine. They’re essential to meeting the daily nutrition needs of Americans.

Egg farmers know how much eggs are loved—they’re in almost every U.S. refrigerator—and egg farmers are proud to produce the incredibly nutritious, high-quality eggs Americans count on.

Here are answers to some of the most common questions shoppers are asking egg farmers:

Why do eggs cost more right now?

Affordable food matters to everyone. And although egg farmers usually can’t set the price of eggs, they are doing everything they can to keep costs down and make sure eggs are plentiful, which should help ease prices.

Several things are temporarily affecting the price of eggs right now that are beyond a farmer’s control. Inflation is impacting the price of many foods, including eggs. In addition, things egg farmers need to run their farms and get eggs to the store, like fuel and chicken feed, all cost more right now.

Finally, an animal sickness called bird flu has temporarily reduced the number of hens laying eggs. The good news is farms are recovering quickly and getting back to producing eggs.

My local store didn’t have enough eggs or the egg brand I like to buy. What is going on??

There are more than 300 million egg-laying chickens on egg farms in this country—nearly one bird for every American. The egg supply across the country is strong and farmers are working around the clock to keep stores stocked.

On occasion, depending on where you live, where you shop, what day you shop and even the time of day you’re shopping, you may run into a temporary shelf shortage at the store, but don’t worry. These situations are isolated and they are being quickly resolved. We appreciate your patience as egg farmers work hard to get shelves restocked.

When will prices come back down?

While no one can predict exactly when prices will come down, experts all say current prices are temporary.

Although egg farmers don’t control the price of eggs, they are doing everything they can to keep their costs down and supply as many eggs as they can, which should help ease prices.

In addition, people buy a lot of eggs during the holidays for baking and entertaining, which can drive prices up. Now that the holidays are behind us, prices may start to go down. In fact, wholesale prices for eggs have already decreased in recent weeks.

What is happening with the bird flu?

Bird flu is an animal disease that is almost always fatal to chickens. And it is devastating to the egg farmers who care for these birds and depend on them for their livelihoods. Right now, egg farmers are focused on protecting their birds from bird flu and keeping grocery stores stocked.

There are about 6% fewer hens laying eggs right now than we would normally have in the U.S. because of bird flu. The good news is that most of the egg farms affected by bird flu have recovered and are quickly getting back to regular egg production.

About Egg Pricing and Availability

The price of eggs, like other agricultural commodities, is determined by the market. America’s egg farmers are doing everything they can to keep costs down and shelves stocked. Many experts who follow food economics and egg market pricing have predicted that prices will come down, and in fact, wholesale prices are decreasing in recent weeks.

It is important to know that any low-stocks or shortages are sporadic and shouldn’t last long. Egg farmers are working around the clock to keep their customers in foodservice, retail and manufacturing well supplied with the eggs they vitally need.

Thank you for trusting America’s egg farmers to produce your eggs.

For Member of the Press

Background materials, images and other resources are available for reporters working on stories.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Marc Dresner
media@aeb.org
1.855.EGGS411