For the first time since the Bureau of Labor began data in 1980, the cost of 12 eggs has surpassed the cost of a pound of beef.
A dozen large Grade A eggs cost an average of $4.82 in January 2023, while a pound of ground beef cost $4.64. A year ago, in January 2022, eggs were $1.93 and beef was $4.77. Egg prices have increased by a whopping 70 percent in the last 12 months.
The historic rise in egg prices was caused by a worldwide bird flu that wiped out nearly 100 million poultry. According to the CDC, the most severe outbreaks occurred in the US states of Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Colorado.
Worsening, higher feed and transport costs caused egg prices to continue to rise. While the increase has put consumers under pressure, egg suppliers have seen big gains as their margins allow them to get more out of each egg. The big spike in egg prices started around September.
Cal-Maine, the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the United States, reported record quarterly income of $199 million in the last quarter of 2022. As of the last quarter of 2021, it was close to breakeven at just $1 million.
A dozen large Grade A eggs cost an average of $4.82 in January 2023, while a pound of ground beef cost $4.64. A year ago, in January 2022, eggs were $1.93 and beef was $4.77
The historic rise in egg prices was caused by a worldwide bird flu that wiped out nearly 100 million poultry
Eggs weren’t the only items to increase in price. Dairy products are also becoming more expensive. Butter rose 26 percent and margarine rose 45 percent. Flour, bread, sugar and milk were all on top too.
Meanwhile, the price of a pound of ground beef has fallen year-on-year as demand slacks, Bloomberg reported. The trend is not unique to the US and can even be seen in some of the world’s most carnivorous countries, such as Argentina and Brazil.
Other meats also fell in price, including pork chops and hot dogs. In 2022, US shoppers will reduce their meat purchases by more than 4 percent, data from NielsenIQ shows.
The price of eggs has increased so much over the past year that Americans are now taking to smuggling eggs across the US-Mexico border.
Customs data through Jan. 17 shows egg confiscations at the field office in El Paso, Texas, down 91 percent, in Laredo, Texas, down 301 percent, in Tucson, Arizona, down 333 percent and in San Diego, California , has increased by 368 percent. compared to the same period last year.
Most of the eggs seized were cartons of 30 eggs that travelers bought for themselves in Mexican stores due to the lower prices.
Residents of California, Texas, and Arizona who live near the border often buy groceries from Mexican stores, but some farm products, including raw eggs, are banned from entry into the United States due to the risk of contracting Newcastle disease and to spread bird flu.
In most cases, people are unaware of these restrictions, so eggs are confiscated by those who reported them to inspectors.
According to the CDC, the most severe outbreaks occurred in the US states of Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Colorado. Counties that have reported bird flu outbreaks are highlighted in purple
As egg prices rose in the US, some Americans tried to buy them in Mexico and bring them back across the border
The cost of eggs has risen more than other foods such as chicken and turkey because egg farmers have been hit harder by bird flu and the resulting devastation of chicken flocks.
More than 43 million of the 58 million birds slaughtered last year to fight the virus were egg-laying chickens, including some farms with more than a million birds each in big egg-producing states like Iowa.
In some places it was difficult to find eggs on the shelves. But overall egg supplies are holding up because the overall flock has declined only about 5 percent from its normal size of about 320 million hens.
Farmers have been working to replace their herds as quickly as possible following an outbreak.
Purdue University agricultural economist Jayson Lusk said he believes the bird flu outbreak is the biggest driver of price hikes. Unlike previous years, the virus persisted throughout the summer and saw a resurgence in infection of egg and poultry farms last fall.
“Avian flu isn’t the only factor, but I think it’s the main reason for what we’re seeing right now,” Lusk told the Associated Press.
But American Egg Board trade group president and CEO Emily Metz said she believes any cost hikes farmers have faced over the past year were a bigger factor in price increases than bird flu.
“If you look at fuel costs going up, and you see feed costs go up up to 60 percent, labor costs, packaging costs, all of that … those are much, much bigger factors than bird flu for sure,” Metz said.
Purdue University agricultural economist Jayson Lusk said he believes the bird flu outbreak is the biggest driver of price hikes
Jada Thomson, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas, said there could be some easing in egg prices over the next few months as egg farmers have steadily replaced flocks lost to bird flu last year and demand is now set to ease somewhat , as people are getting done with their holiday baking.
But she said bird flu remains a wild card that could still send prices skyrocketing if egg farms have major outbreaks.
Farmers are doing everything they can to limit the spread, but the disease is easily transmitted by migrating wild birds and the virus can be picked up on clothing or vehicles.
“But there are some things that are out of our control,” Thompson said. “Sometimes you can’t control nature.”