If there’s one thing that’s been dominating headlines lately, it’s eggs.

Or more specifically, the price of them. It’s no secret the price of chicken eggs has increased, thanks in large part to what the U.S. Department of Agriculture describes as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

At the end of January, the agency reported that 13.2 million birds had been “depopulated” in December 2024, reaching 14 million in January. Outbreaks had been confirmed in seven states: Arizona, California, North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana and Washington. The USDA reports 11.9 million (85%) came from conventional caged systems, 2.1 million (15%) in cage-free systems, and 26,000 organic (0.2%). These losses represented 6.5% of the conventional caged layer flock, 2.1% of the non-organic cage-free flock and 0.1% of the organic flock.

The USDA also reported on regional egg prices. As of Jan. 31, the wholesale price on the New York market for large cartoned shell eggs increased $0.39 to $7.63 per dozen. In the major Midwest production region, the wholesale price for large, white shell eggs delivered to warehouses increased $0.54 to $7.03 per dozen. Prices paid to producers for large cartoned shell eggs increased $0.41 to $7.25 per dozen. The California benchmark for large shell eggs remained unchanged at $8.97 per dozen.

While consumers are feeling the pinch at grocery checkouts, Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, pointed to the challenges farmers are facing in a recent interview with Kelley Rodriguez, editor-in-chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, FOOD ENGINEERING’s sister publication.

Not only are farmers culling birds, but if they experience an outbreak, they must clean and sanitize their barns before receiving more young birds, which still need to mature before they can produce eggs.

“It's been a devastating two years for the industry," Metz says. "Just last year we lost over 40 million birds and we’ve started this year by losing more than 14 million. We are in the fight of our lives, truly, and our farmers are fighting for their livelihood and their farms.”

The avian flu has certainly complicated things, but the price of eggs has been a touchpoint since before the avian flu outbreaks. Recently, eggs – given their accessibility and ubiquity in U.S. households – have served as a symbol for the inflation affecting food prices.

Additionally, CoBank points to surging egg demand over the last few years, including increasing interest in specialty eggs, such as cage-free and organic varieties. The financial institution, which serves agribusinesses, reports per-capita egg consumption grew from approximately 260 eggs in 2016 to 300 in 2019.

Though Metz expects a full recovery to take at least nine months, she’s certain consumers will continue to seek out eggs. And with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent updates to its definition of “healthy” – which now includes eggs – their nutritional profile may also support continued sales.

“We're in this delicate time right now, where I think Americans love of eggs are going to endure, no matter what," Metz told Rodriguez and R&FF. "That being said, no one is going to be frustrated forever. So we're going to have to try to redouble our efforts here to understand the virus, understand the tools that we can bring to fight the virus and then work to fix it because we've got to.”