Egg prices will increase 41% this year in the US, according to official forecasts

Not only is the price of eggs still sky-high in the United States, but it is set to rise even further. Supply problems caused by bird flu have created an imbalance in the market that has driven up the price. A report released Wednesday by the Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service estimates that egg prices will increase 41% this year. The price hike has caused some restaurant chains to charge extra for each egg. There have also been some isolated problems with shortages. The average price for a dozen eggs hit a record $4.95 in January, but in many supermarkets that figure is double that, and in some places the price of a single egg exceeds a dollar.

Retail egg prices rose 13.8% in January, after rising 8% in December. According to the USDA and official statistics, egg prices were 53% higher in January 2025 than in January 2024 and exceeded previous highs set in January 2023. “Egg prices are projected to increase 41.1% in 2025, with a forecast range of 15.0% to 74.9%,” the USDA report says.

The price increases are due to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza that began in 2022. This contributes to higher egg prices by reducing egg-layer flocks and egg production. About 18.8 million commercial layers were affected by avian influenza in January 2025, the highest monthly total since the outbreak began in 2022, according to the Department of Agriculture. And the number has already risen to more than 30 million through February.

Prices have more than doubled since pre-outbreak levels, costing consumers at least $1.4 billion last year, according to an estimate by agricultural economists at the University of Arkansas. Restaurants like Denny’s and Waffle House began adding surcharges to egg dishes.

New shock plan

Trump’s new Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, published an op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday announcing a plan to address high egg prices that includes studying imports from other countries.

“The USDA will invest up to $1 billion to stem this crisis and make eggs affordable again,” Rollins said. The USDA has already dedicated about $2 billion starting in 2022 to combat avian flu.

Rollins says she is working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), overseen by billionaire Elon Musk, to cut “wasteful expense” and use the money toward fighting bird flu. Some associations have warned that DOGE-driven layoffs have occurred precisely among those tasked with fighting the epidemic, which has led to the culling of some 166 million egg-laying hens since 2022. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar called on the Department of Agriculture to confirm that it has rehired all people involved in the bird flu response who were laid off.

There is no silver bullet to eradicate bird flu, Rollins admits in the article, who presents a five-point strategy. The first consists of up to $500 million in aid to poultry producers “implement gold-standard biosecurity measures,” and prevent any contamination. The second consists of up to $400 million in aid to farmers whose populations are affected by bird flu to safely resume their operations after an outbreak. In addition, the Department of Agriculture will allocate up to $100 million to research and development of vaccines and treatments to improve their effectiveness and efficiency against bird flu.

Rollins also wants to remove regulatory burdens for egg producers and “make it easier for families to raise chickens in their backyards.” Finally, the Trump administration will consider import options to reduce egg costs in the short term.

The administration is in talks to import 70 million to 100 million eggs from abroad in the coming months, Rollins said. But 7.57 billion eggs were produced in the United States last month, so those imports don't seem likely to make a significant difference in the market.

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