Last year, in the wake of an avian flu outbreak that forced states to cull over 43 million birds, egg prices in grocery stores throughout the country spiked to historic levels. The average price of eggs peaked at about $3 per dozen after more than doubling in a period of just a few months. For those of us who didn’t have our own flocks of backyard chickens, making an omelette got pretty pricey.
Now, just a little over a year later, egg prices have fallen to their lowest point in a decade. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of a dozen eggs from is sitting at about $1.46. In some places, supermarket shoppers can find eggs for as low as $0.99 per dozen. On average, eggs are 52 percent cheaper today than they were last year.
So what lead to such a dramatic turnaround in egg prices?
First and foremost, egg producers haven’t had to contend with another avian flu scare this year. This has allowed them to resume their normal operations and increase their output from last year. Low fuel costs and better-than-average weather conditions also contributed to falling egg prices. In fact, these favorable conditions have caused food prices across the board to fall this year.
It’s unlikely that egg prices will go much lower than they are now, but they should continue to stay well below the unusually high averages we saw last year. And if you’re lucky enough to have some hens of your own, you have one less reason to worry about these price fluctuations in the future.
And that’s today’s news from the Cackle Coop!
