"There's never been a better time to buy eggs. Our message right now is, pick up another dozen. They're especially affordable right now. The turnaround is all about avian flu, which a year ago had wiped out tens of millions of laying hens. The virus that causes the flu hasn't gone away. There were big outbreaks last month in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina. But flu season has done far less damage to egg farms this winter than last."
"We've had the time to expand the flock of egg-laying chickens, and that's helped bring down prices. While falling prices are good for egg lovers, they're not so good for egg farmers. Although the supermarket price of eggs has dropped 42% in the last 12 months, the wholesale price that farmers receive has plummeted more than 90%, to around 70 cents a dozen."
"That's an extremely low price. We're into the territory where it's probably below producers' production cost. Egg farmers are reluctant to cut back on birds, though, since they don't know when the flu might flare up again. When prices were sky-high, farmers who had eggs to sell made good money. Now that prices have plunged, they're barely getting by."
Egg prices have dramatically declined from crisis levels to approximately $2.50 per dozen, offering consumers significant savings. This turnaround follows reduced avian flu damage to laying hen populations this winter compared to the previous year. The U.S. now has about 9 million more egg-laying hens than a year ago, contributing to increased supply and lower prices. However, farmers face severe financial hardship as wholesale prices have dropped more than 90% to around 70 cents per dozen, falling below production costs. Despite these losses, farmers remain reluctant to reduce their flocks due to uncertainty about future flu outbreaks.
Read at www.npr.org
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