Eggflation is back.
After subsiding in recent months, the price of eggs is again on the rise due to an outbreak of bird flu that is roiling the American industry.
The latest inflation report in the U.S. showed that egg prices rose 8.9% in December from November. The sharp monthly increase in egg prices was well above the overall growth in inflation of 0.3%.
The rise in December egg prices is being attributed to a resurgence of avian flu, commonly known as bird flu.
In 2022, an outbreak of bird flu killed millions of egg-laying chickens and pushed egg prices to record highs at the start of 2023.
Last January, the average cost of a dozen eggs in America was $4.82 U.S. However, that price fell to $2.04 U.S. by last August as the bird flu outbreak subsided.
But now, a new strain of bird flu is spreading and again leading to a decline in the number of eggs being produced, sending prices higher once again.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that 11.5 million chickens were euthanized in America during December, up from 1.4 million in October of last year.
The national egg supply in the U.S. dropped 2% in the last week of December and again in the first week of January this year, says the Agriculture Department.
The drop in supply is pushing egg prices sharply higher to start the year.
However, even with the 8.9% increase, December’s egg prices in the U.S. were 24% lower than they were during the same month of 2022 when the last outbreak of bird flu was peaking.
