Egg prices for consumers fell to 5-month low in May. Here's why.
Consumers are finally getting a break when it comes to egg prices.
Egg prices dropped to $4.55 in May, down 11% from $5.12 in April, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The price drop for a dozen Grade A large eggs comes as the effects of a years-long, widespread avian flu outbreak recede and demand for eggs softens slightly, as it usually does this time of year.
"There are two main drivers behind the drop in prices — abatement in the conversation about bird flu, and some seasonality in uses of eggs. Typically as we move into summer, demand for eggs soften, as people shift to consuming more meat and grilling outdoors," Brett House, an economics professor at Columbia Business School, told CBS MoneyWatch. "People aren't making heavy breakfasts, so we don't see demand for eggs being as strong as it typically is during the winter months."
While egg prices have declined for two consecutive months, down from $6.23 a dozen in March, they remain elevated compared with 12 months ago. In May 2024, a dozen eggs cost $2.70.
David Ortega, a food economics professor at Michigan State University, told CBS MoneyWatch that avian flu containment has been responsible for most of the decrease in the average price of eggs.
"This is primarily due to a reduction in the number of commercial facilities that have been impacted by the bird flu," he said. "A lot of bird flu activity in the beginning of the year led to a significant surge in egg prices, but those impacts have really lessened over the past couple of months."
Wholesale egg prices began to decrease in March, according to Ortega, and the price drops are now starting to show up at the retail level.
"There's a bit of a lag before they reach consumers at the grocery store," he said.
The bird flu outbreak, which began in the spring of 2022, is not yet entirely contained and continues to impact the industry, he cautioned. "It's still very much an issue," Ortega said.
A May outbreak at an Arizona layer farm affected nearly 1.4 million birds, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Consumer Price Index data shows that while overall food costs rose slightly in May, egg prices dropped.
"But egg prices are still substantially higher than they were 12 months ago, even after two months of decreases," House said.
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