Deadly Bird Flu Outbreak, Supply Chain Issues Cause Egg Prices To Soar

The deadliest U.S. bird flu outbreak in seven years has led to even higher prices for eggs, especially during a high demand time such as Easter. Experts said the outbreak, mixed with supply chain issues and the pandemic, may mean high prices for quite some time.

Whether the cost impacts how shoppers spend their money depends on who you ask. The USDA reported national average prices for a dozen large eggs is almost three times what it was this time last year.

Maurice Hail paid $4.79 for a dozen cage-free eggs. "They are going up in price, but you only live once, so why not enjoy it?" said Hail.

The USDA estimated 25 million poultry birds, mostly chickens and turkeys, have died because of the avian flu. Jeff Reasor with Brookshire Grocery Co., Reasor's Division, explained the impact to stores and shoppers.

"There's almost 10 million chickens have been put to death just to try to the movement and the transfer of the avian flu, so once that happens, it's like the stock market, people's emotions within the industry start to take over," said Reasor.

Over at Oasis Fresh Market in north Tulsa, Mark McDade, a shift lead, said the store has more eggs left over because shoppers there do not want to spend so much.

"Mainly the people that buy it is people from other businesses because they have the money to do that,” explained McDade. “As far as the community, it's kind of like a suffer toward them because they don't want to spend the extra amount of money."

Francetta Mays of Tulsa said she has not bought eggs in a month and will have other options for Easter. "The price of eggs has been going up ever since the pandemic hit, but now it's a little ridiculous with the trucking issues that we're having across the country,” said Mays.

Experts said the price of eggs could continue to soar, and there could be fewer on the shelves come this summer.