Here’s why egg prices surged in 2022. Those elevated costs could last into the first quarter of 2023, expert says
Published Thu, Dec 29 202211:22 AM ESTUpdated 2 Hours Ago
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Greg Iacurci
Egg prices jumped 49% in the past year, more than any other grocery category, according to the consumer price index.
Bird flu is the primary culprit, economists said. Millions of egg-laying hens died in 2022 as a result of the deadliest outbreak of avian flu in U.S. history.
Perhaps counterintuitively, chicken prices have been declining. Chickens raised for meat consumption aren’t as affected by bird flu, economists said.
The surge in egg prices has stood out in a year when Americans saw their bills balloon across the grocery store.
Average egg prices jumped 49.1% in November compared with those a year earlier — the largest annual percentage increase among all grocery items in that period, according to the consumer price index, a barometer of inflation.
By comparison, the overarching “food at home” category was up 12%.
The increase is even more acute when measured by the cost of a dozen large, Grade A eggs, which more than doubled to $3.59 in November from $1.72 the year-earlier month, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/29/why-egg-prices-have-been-rising.html
