The real reason behind skyrocketing egg prices... and why they are likely to shoot up even more this year

Egg prices are soaring crossed the country, and are acceptable to ascent adjacent further this year. 

The outgo of a twelve eggs has much than doubled since summertime 2023, and deed a near-record precocious of $4.15 successful December past year. 

While this fell abbreviated of the $4.82 grounds acceptable 2 years ago, the Agriculture Department predicts prices are going to ascent different 20 percent this year.

Shoppers crossed the state are already paying much than treble the mean price, and immoderate are adjacent reporting uncovering bare shelves astatine their section market store. 

Some stores person resorted to limiting the fig of eggs customers tin bargain successful a bid to combat shortages. 

A deadly strain of vertebrate flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, which is pushing up prices. 

'It's conscionable robbery,' Minneapolis nonmigratory Sage Mills, who bought eggs to cook a day barroom past week, told AP News. 

'Eggs utilized to beryllium benignant of a staple nutrient for us, but present you know, you mightiness arsenic good conscionable spell retired to eat.'

At Market Basket locations successful immoderate parts of Massachusetts, shoppers are being asked to bounds their purchases to 2 ovum cartons per family, according to CBS News. 

In Las Vegas, residents reported uncovering bare shelves, portion successful immoderate parts of California locals are being charged $9 a twelve connected average. 

Anytime the vertebrate flu microorganism is recovered connected a poultry farm, the full flock is slaughtered to assistance bounds its spread, according to AP.

And with monolithic ovum farms routinely lodging much than 1 cardinal chickens, conscionable a fewer infections tin origin a proviso crunch.

More than 145 cardinal chickens, turkeys and different birds person been slaughtered since the existent outbreak began, with the immense bulk of them being egg-laying chickens.

Cage-free ovum laws whitethorn besides beryllium liable for immoderate proviso disruptions and terms increases.

Organic and cage-free eggs are already much costly than different varieties, but caller laws successful 10 states set minimum abstraction for chickens oregon cage-free requirements for egg-laying hens.  

At a Target successful Chicago connected Monday, a twelve ample accepted eggs outgo $4.49 but a twelve ample cage-free eggs were selling for $6.19.

The emergence successful ovum costs is outpacing inflation, taking a toll connected Americans who are already struggling to digest elevated nutrient prices. 

According to a terms tracker by CBS News, the mean terms of a twelve eggs was up 60 percent successful December from the twelvemonth prior. 

The yearly complaint of ostentation for nutrient successful December, meanwhile, was 2.5 percent, with the outgo of nutrient astatine location rising conscionable 0.3 percent. 

Donald Trump has faced backlash for the rising outgo of eggs, contempt him pledging to bring down market prices connected time 1 of his presidency. 

Earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance said it is 'going to instrumentality a spot of time' to bring down market prices. 

'There is simply a batch of reporting retired determination that is putting the onus connected this White House for the accrued outgo of eggs,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked astir the contented astatine her first property briefing connected Tuesday.

She did not notation vertebrate flu, but added: 'As acold arsenic the ovum shortage, what's besides contributing to that is that the Biden admin and Department of Agriculture directed the wide sidesplitting of 100 cardinal chickens.'