Egg prices at the grocery store were elevated throughout 2022 due to outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) among egg-laying hens, said USDA economists. Because of the recurrent outbreaks, U.S. egg inventories were 29% smaller in late December than they were the start of 2022. The lower-than-usual shell egg inventories near the end of the year, combined with increased demand stemming from the holiday baking season, resulted in several successive weeks of record-high egg prices.
Wholesale egg prices are expected to decline as the industry rebuilds its hen inventory, according to the Economic Research Service. Prices, which were 210% higher in the week leading up to Christmas than during the same period in 2021, finally declined in the final week of 2022.
Bird flu outbreaks began last February, with two large waves of losses — the first from February to June and the second from September to December. By the end of 2022, more than 43 million laying hens had died from the viral disease and from culling of flocks to prevent its spread. At latest count, 57.8 million birds, mostly laying hens and turkeys in domestic flocks, had died from bird flu.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
Throughout 2022 we reported on the HPAI virus, i.e., bird flu, and the devastating impact it was having on poultry producers across the U.S. This latest USDA report merely confirms how the losses at the farm level ultimately translated into higher prices for consumers. We have all seen and felt the impact, but seeing the actual numbers really brings the overall picture into clear focus. This article, however, also brings to light the need to have food security systems in place that can help monitor and assist in the control of such diseases. Without such systems available, there is no telling how much worse the impact could have been. If you have poultry producers in your area who were affected by this outbreak, now would be a great time to reach out and offer to help them with a service special. Let them know you care about their welfare and well-being – it will go a long way in gaining their trust. Like the old saying states, “people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care!”
