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Waffle House instituted a 50-cent per egg surcharge in February
at all of its 1,900 U.S. restaurants due to the soaring cost of
eggs. Denny’s also put a surcharge in place in February, but it
varied by location.
Outbreaks of bird flu in January and February caused the average
price of a dozen Grade A eggs to hit a record high of $6.23 per
dozen in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
More than 174.8 million wild bird and poultry have been killed
due to the virus, which began circulating in January 2022. Any
time a bird gets sick, the entire flock is killed to help keep
the highly contagious flu from spreading. The mass slaughters
can affect egg supplies because massive egg farms may have
millions of birds.
Egg prices at grocery stores began falling in April as bird flu
cases fell and Easter demand eased. In May, the average retail
price dropped further, to $4.55 per dozen. That was the lowest
price since December, when eggs averaged $4.15 per dozen.
Increased imports of eggs also helped lower prices. U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said earlier this month
that the U.S. has imported more than 26 million dozen shell eggs
since January from Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, Turkey and South
Korea. The federal government also approved three new facilities
for receiving imported eggs.
The government has also completed nearly 1,000 biosecurity
assessments on U.S. farms and helped farms pay for biosecurity
upgrades, Rollins said.
Still, Rollins said the fall could be “potentially challenging”
for egg producers. Wild birds often spread the avian flu virus
during their migrations.
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