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Photo: iStock / ra3rn
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that supply chain issues for eggs at grocery stores have "greatly improved," as wholesale prices have fallen ahead of the Easter holiday.
In its egg market overview published on March 28, the USDA reported that consumers "are once again seeing fully stocked shelves and enjoying a range of choices without purchase restrictions." The average wholesale price of a dozen eggs also dipped by 8% between March 21 and March 28, and is down 63% from late-February's record highs. That said, the USDA said that consumers only recently started to see a decline in shelf prices, due to the fact that wholesale price changes can take up to three weeks to be reflected in the dairy aisle at grocery stores.
The spread of avian influenza has slowed in the meantime, with no infections having been found in egg-laying flocks since March 18. Prior to that, there were only two other flocks of infected egg-laying hens recently identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on March 17 and March 4 respectively. In its March 7 overview, the USDA noted that the respite has "provided an opportunity" for egg producers to fill supply chain gaps and repopulate flocks they had to cull in previous months.
The April 20 Easter holiday is expected to lead to a surge in demand for eggs in the weeks to come, which the American Egg Board warns could create a "second, temporary increase in prices." Egg farmers are also monitoring the spring migration patterns of wild birds, given that the later-2024/early 2025 spike in bird flu cases was traced back to migratory geese.
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