Inflation continues to cool as President Donald Trump enters his fifth month in office, with the price of one notable food commodity dropping substantially. The price of eggs has dropped by over 61% since Trump took office in January, after peaking at an all-time high in March.
The latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that a dozen large white shell eggs now costs $2.52 on average nationwide. Back on January 21, that same carton cost around $6.49, according to data from Trading Economics. The site also reports that egg prices peaked at more than $8 per dozen during the first week of March, Fox Business reports.
“Shell egg demand posted a slight improvement headed into the Memorial Day weekend but remained well below average in the continuation of a trend that began during the sharp price increases in late winter,” the USDA Egg Markets Overview weekly publication said. Inflation peaked at 9.1 percent in June 2022 during the Biden administration.
In April, a study by Clarify Capital found that more than 30% of Americans had stopped purchasing eggs because of their high prices. Analysts attributed the price drop to reduced demand and a decline in new bird flu outbreaks. That same month, Reuters reported that the U.S. ramped up egg imports from countries like Turkey, Brazil, and South Korea to boost supply amid a bird flu outbreak that has killed nearly 170 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds since 2022.
According to Bernt Nelson, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Foundation, the outbreak has affected more than 166 million birds, including 127 million egg-laying hens. This amounts to an average annual loss of 42.3 million egg layers—about 11% of the five-year average layer inventory of 383 million hens.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirms that the effects of the outbreak are still present today. “To date, USDA APHIS has confirmed 43 outbreaks in layer flocks in 10 states (AZ, CA, IA, IN, MO, NC, OH, PA, SD, and WA),” the Egg Markets Overview said, per Fox Business.
