13-03-2025
Higher costs, less supply: Spain faces same 'egg-onomic' crisis as US
The increase in the price of a dozen eggs, one of the most commonly consumed foods in Spanish households, began back to 2024 but properly started at the beginning of the year.
In recent weeks, many shoppers have noticed around a 50 cent increase, with costs reaching €2.80 or higher for a dozen small-sized eggs.
These price rises are not isolated, nor a one-off, but rather the result of several interconnected factors affecting production and distribution around the world.
Spanish consumer watchdog Facua found that the increase can vary from one chain to another, but at the beginning of March the consumer organisation recorded increases in the price of eggs of up to 25 percent.
And according to experts, they could continue to rise yet further still. Why is this?
The first key is demand itself. The sector has seen an increase that dates back to 2024, with an increase of 8 percent overall, much higher than that recorded for meat or refrigerated products. Experts point to consumers looking for cheaper protein options, such as eggs, during periods of inflation.
Farms in Spain have also had to deal with a series of underlying factors affecting their costs: the end of state subsidies on their electricity bills and an increase in the cost of labour and grain in recent years, particularly following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Avian flu has also played a role in global prices, especially in the US, where it has plunged it into what has already been dubbed 'ovoflation' marked by shortages and record prices. In January the average price of a dozen grade A eggs was around $4.95.
President of Mercadona, Joan Roig, addressed egg prices when presenting the popular chain's record results recently: 'We raise and lower prices because raw materials go up and down,' he said, referring to the 'egg crisis' in his words.
'We don't know what will happen with commodities. We now have the 'egg crisis', with a 20 percent increase in price because 160 million hens have died in the United States,' he added.
Due to the avian flu problems in the US, many American importers are now looking to Europe and Spain to fill the hole, meaning that Spanish poultry farmers could soon get a new customer base that will pay over the odds.
This will be felt by Spaniards, who will be left with fewer eggs available and further price rises in the stock that remains.
César Redondo of Huevos Redondo, a medium-sized egg farm in Ávila, told El Periódico de España that just 'this very week… There has been a meeting of farms to increase the price by 10 cents per dozen.
'But the outlook for the coming weeks is that the price could rise to 50 cents each,' says Redondo. 'I wouldn't be surprised if there are also restrictions and quotas per family in the coming days. The situation is going to get very, very tough,' he added.
