Wholesale Egg Prices Plummet, Retail Prices Remain Elevated

By Ryan Hanrahan

Newsweek’s Jasmine Laws reported Tuesday that wholesale “egg prices in the U.S. have fallen to $3.45 per dozen, reaching their lowest level in nearly five months, following a period of price volatility fueled by supply chain issues, bird flu outbreaks, and fluctuating consumer demand.”

“Egg prices have experienced extreme fluctuations over the past year. On March 3, wholesale egg prices reached a record $8.17 per dozen, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The spike was attributed to tight supplies and seasonal demand,” Laws reported. “Since then, prices have declined more than 57% to $3.45 per dozen, the lowest since late October 2024.”

“A recent USDA Egg Market Report noted that egg inventories have increased, contributing to the drop in prices,” Laws reported. “The report also found that demand has eased slightly following the holiday season, reducing upward pressure on costs, and that there had been ‘no significant’ outbreaks of bird flu reported so far in March. The USDA data refers to wholesale egg prices.”

“Retail prices, meanwhile, skyrocketed to an average of $5.90 per dozen large Grade A eggs in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” Laws reported. “That’s nearly double what they were in February last year.”

Retail Egg Prices Taking Longer to Fall

NBC News’ Greg Iacurci reported Tuesday that “while there have been some early signs of easing prices, it’s unclear how rapidly — and to what extent — consumers may get more relief, experts said.”

“For one, there’s generally a lag of at least two to three weeks between a change in wholesale costs and subsequent retail pricing — meaning consumers are still largely ‘feeling the peak market when they go to buy eggs,’ Rispoli said,” according to Iacurci’s reporting. “Plus, retailers ultimately choose ‘how closely they want to track wholesale prices,’ she said.”

“Egg demand is also likely to stay elevated as the Easter holiday, which falls on April 20 this year, approaches, according to Kevin Bergquist, an egg analyst at the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute,” Iacurci reported. “‘Egg prices will likely remain highly variable for the near future, but at a higher-than-usual level,’ Bergquist wrote in a March market update. ‘In the short term, we will likely see a continuation of high egg prices.’”

Egg Seizures at U.S. Border Have Spiked

CBS News’ Li Cohen reported Wednesday that “as the bird flu continues to wreak havoc on the U.S. egg supply, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows there have been significantly more egg products seized at U.S. borders than the number of seizures of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl so far in fiscal year 2025.”

“According to the CBP data, there have been 413 drug seizure events involving fentanyl in fiscal year 2025, with December, January, and February all having fewer fentanyl seizures than in those months the year before,” Cohen reported. “Meanwhile, there have been 5,572 egg product interceptions so far this fiscal year, the data shows. There were nearly 16,000 such interceptions in all of fiscal year 2024. In February, the agency’s San Diego field office reported a 158% increase in egg interceptions since fiscal year 2024.”

“The rise in egg interceptions comes as the U.S. continues to battle an outbreak of avian flu that has devastated the poultry industry and caused a surge in egg prices and shortages in some stores,” Cohen reported. “CBP has said most of the egg product interceptions that have occurred were because people were unaware that they couldn’t bring those products across the border. ‘Travelers are prohibited from bringing fresh eggs, raw chicken, or live birds into the U.S. from Mexico,’ the agency notes.”

Wholesale Egg Prices Plummet, Retail Prices Remain Elevated was originally published by Farmdoc.