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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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Egg prices continue surging across the country as the ongoing bird flu outbreak wreaks havoc among U.S. flocks, affecting states that had largely escaped the virus in 2024.
The vertiginous rise of egg prices is undermining President Donald Trump's campaign promise to bring down the cost of living—and specifically the cost of the beloved staple—once elected, as experts say prices will likely go even higher throughout the year.
Newsweek contacted Trump's team for comment by email on Monday morning, outside of standard working hours.
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Why It Matters
A shrinking supply of egg-laying chickens has left shoppers facing empty shelves in grocery stores and higher prices for a product they've come to rely on as a relatively inexpensive, protein-rich staple. Their struggle is likely to reflect poorly on Trump, who said he won the election due to voters' frustration with the increased cost of living under the Joe Biden administration.
"When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time, and I won an election based on that," he told NBC's Meet the Press in December. "We're going to bring those prices way down."
What to Know
In December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that a dozen large, grade-A eggs cost an average of $4.16, up from $3.60 in November and $3.37 in October. Compared to a year earlier, prices had climbed by 8.4 percent.
Prices continue climbing in January—even for retailers. According to the latest USDA data on the egg market, the wholesale price on the New York market for large cartoned shell eggs delivered to retailers rose $0.52 to $7.24 per dozen in the week ending on January 24. In the Midwest, it increased by $0.42 to $6.49 per dozen. In California, it declined $0.41 to $8.35.
Why Are Prices Rising?
The main reason behind the rise in egg prices is a dramatic cut in supply due to the ongoing bird flu outbreak in the U.S. The outbreak began in February 2022 and has led to the killing of more than 111 million birds across the country, most of which were egg-laying chicken. In the past month alone, nearly 13 million birds have been infected or culled, VOX reported.
The bird flu outbreak, despite efforts to contain it, is getting worse. In 2024, the virus, H5N1, began circulating among U.S. dairy cows. Earlier this month, Louisiana health officials reported the first human death in the U.S. from bird flu.
But an expected rise in inflation is also playing a part in the surge in egg prices. In its price outlook, the USDA expects prices for all foods to increase by 2.2 percent this year, with grocery stores prices rising by 1.3 percent.
What Is Trump Doing About It?
Trump ran for office with the promise that he would bring down the cost of living once in the White House.
But in the flurry of executive orders he issued during his first week in office, there was little in the direction of bringing down food prices, and in recent comments he said bringing down the cost of everyday goods won't happen immediately.
"I'd like to bring them down," he told Time in December, when he was named by the magazine Person of the Year. "It's hard to bring things down once they're up. You know, it's very hard. But I think that they will...I think that energy is going to bring them down. I think a better supply chain is going to bring them down."
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Trump is taking steps to lower energy costs at the rhythm of "Drill, baby, drill," reducing regulations and increasing the amount of land available for drilling. Should he be successful, cheaper energy might in turn bring down the cost of everyday goods—including eggs.
But the kind of increase in domestic oil production that Trump aims to achieve—an additional 3 million barrels a day, some aides reportedly suggested—won't be reached in a year.
In an interview with CBS's Face the Nation aired on Sunday, Trump's running mate and now Vice President JD Vance also asked for time before judging the efficacy of the president's actions to tackle inflation.
"Prices are going to come down, but it's going to take a little bit of time, right?" he said. "Rome wasn't built in a day."
What People Are Saying
Taryn Phaneuf of NerdWallet wrote: "[Egg] prices will remain volatile until producers can rebuild their flocks and recover egg production levels. But that's hard to do when the virus remains out of control."
Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, told CNN Business: "Not to be the bearer of bad news, but we're in this for a while. Until we have time without a [H5N1 virus] detection, unfortunately this very, very tight egg supply is going to continue."
Brian Moscogiuri, a vice president at Eggs Unlimited, a wholesaler based in California, told The New York Times: "It could take six months for the market to stabilize. We need to see outbreaks of avian influenza stop. We need a period of time when the farms aren't being impacted and can repopulate their chickens and we need to see demand start to slow down."
Former Hillary Clinton aide Zac Petkanas wrote on X on Saturday: "Donald Trump promised to end inflation on Day 1. It's on video. It's now Day 6 and egg prices are the highest they have ever been. Ever."
Political commentator Brian Krassenstein wrote on X: "Thank you Trump! $13 carton of eggs! What a deal! Making America Great again!"
What's Next
Experts expect egg prices to continue rising in the coming months, before finally coming down. The USDA said in its price outlook for 2025 that it expects egg prices to increase by 20.3 percent by the end of the year before dropping to about half the peak price. However, new outbreaks of the bird flu across the country could bring prices back up.
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