You might wish to skip that omelette for breakfast and switch to cereal: The common cost of a dozen eggs is now dearer than a gallon of gas.
Like most grocery items, egg prices skyrocketed in 2022, in response to Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. The wholesale cost of a dozen eggs is about $3.30 now within the U.S. and greater than $7 in some states.
American drivers are currently paying a mean of $3.27 per gallon, down from a high over $5 last summer.
Keep in mind that the egg prices quoted are on the wholesale level. The actual prices paid by customers in grocery stores are typically higher, as rising wholesale costs get passed right down to the patron.
CPI data shows that the typical retail cost in U.S. cities for a dozen eggs increased nearly 50% from $1.72 in November 2021 to a record-breaking $5.59 in November 2022. Poultry and eggs posted a few of the highest cost increases in 2022, with wholesale turkeys reaching $1.70 a pound ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, $0.40 higher than the previous 12 months.
Increased consumer demand and a pervasive avian flu epidemic impacting the poultry industry are in charge, in response to the US Department of Agriculture. Greater than 57 million birds in 47 states have been infected with the virus as of Jan. 6, rendering them and their eggs unfit for human consumption.
USDA data shows that egg production dropped from 9.7 billion in December 2021 to eight.9 billion in November 2022.
States with the worst outbreaks are seeing a few of the priciest consequences of the epidemic. In California, where over 750,000 birds have been destroyed as a result of the infection up to now 12 months, a dozen eggs now runs shoppers $7.37 wholesale, in response to USDA data.
Low supply isn’t the one factor yoked to increased egg costs: Americans have cut down on purchasing beef in recent times in favor of healthier proteins like eggs and poultry, the USDA says. While the likelihood of humans contracting avian flu from poultry or wild birds stays low, the financial toll of the outbreak on the industry is predicted to proceed hitting food market shelves.
The last comparable avian flu outbreak occurred in 2015, when 50 million chickens and turkeys were culled. The USDA estimates the epidemic cost the industry about $3.3 billion.
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