Egg prices hit another record high, but some relief may be in sight

Egg prices reached a record high in February as the bird flu continues to run rampant, but some relief may be in sight.

The latest monthly Consumer Price Index showed a dozen Grade A eggs cost an average of $5.90 in U.S. cities in February, up 10% from a year ago. 

Avian flu has forced farmers to slaughter more than 166 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens. Just since the start of the year, more than 30 million egg layers have been killed.

If prices remain high, it will be third year in a row consumers have faced sticker shock ahead of Easter and Passover, occasions in which eggs play prominent roles.

The price had consistently been below $2 a dozen for decades before the disease struck. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects egg prices to rise 41% this year over last year’s average of $3.17 per dozen.

But there may be light at the end of the tunnel. The USDA reported last week that egg shortages are easing and wholesale prices are dropping, which might provide relief on the retail side before Easter, which is three weeks later than last year. It said there had been no major bird flu outbreak for two weeks.

“Shoppers have begun to see shell egg offerings in the dairy case becoming more reliable although retail price levels have yet to adjust,” the USDA wrote in the March 7 report.