Egg prices rise amid bird flu resurgence
(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A resurgence of bird flu is once again causing egg prices to rise.
Egg prices jump 19% in July compared to the same month last year, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report that was released earlier this week.
By comparison, the entire CPI basket of items rose just 2.9% over the same period.
The increase is being blamed on the continuing spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, known in short as HPAI, or the bird flu, which is causing supplies to dwindle.
The bird flu had a historic outbreak in 2022 and surged once again at the end of 2023, and resurgences in Colorado and California are again having an impact on supplies.
The average rate for a dozen large, grade a eggs topped $3 in July for the first time in more than a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Despite this reacceleration, prices are still more than 20% below levels seen last year.
Nonetheless, the price of eggs tracked within the CPI basket is up about 42% compared with july 2021, before the first major outbreak of avian flu in 2022.
