Featured Article: U.S. Egg Production and Retail Prices (April 7th, 2025)
Today’s featured CRS article, “U.S. Egg Production and Retail Prices,” highlights the dramatic price increase reaching a record of $5.90 per dozen eggs in February 2025. This increase was driven by the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that affected more than 168 million birds nationwide. Egg-laying hens take up 75% of the affected birds, which tightened supply and inflated prices. The article additionally outlines federal data sources that monitor egg production and prices, the USDA’s bird flu response strategy, and key policy issues for Congress. This includes vaccination development, increasing domestic egg supply, and concerns about antitrust issues in the poultry industry. This article falls under the issue area of Agriculture and Food. From the CRS:
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. national average retail price of eggs per dozen hit an all-time high of $5.90 in February 2025 (Figure 1). Experts attribute this in part to an outbreak of a highly contagious and deadly viral disease in domestic poultry flocks that has resulted in the loss of millions of birds since 2022. Fewer birds mean fewer eggs, which are a staple food in the American diet with an estimated per capita consumption of 274 eggs in 2024. In response to these record high prices, some consumers have illegally tried to bring eggs across the southern U.S. border or “rented” backyard chicken flocks. Reports such as these and those of some retailers placing limits on egg purchases or certain restaurants adding per-egg surcharges to cover rising food prices have led to congressional interest in the egg supply chain. Further, the Secretary of Agriculture in February 2025 announced a Five-Pronged Approach to Address Bird Flu “to deliver affordable eggs.” This In Focus summarizes the state of the U.S. egg-laying flock, production and price data from federal agencies, and policy issues of potential interest to Congress.
Interested readers can find the full article here.
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Congressional Communities is featuring one Congressional Research Service (CRS) article per day in an effort to share with our readers the wealth of information that the CRS makes readily available.
