As a result of severe outbreaks of bird flu in France and the United States, global egg supplies are tightening and prices are rising as the war in Ukraine impacts exports to Europe and the Middle East.
To contain the disease, which is spread by wild birds, entire flocks are culled when poultry are infected.
Egg suppliers are also grappling with labor shortages and high prices for energy and grain used for animal feed on top of the deadly virus and the war.
The cost of eggs is eating into profits for bakeries and food companies struggling to pay higher prices for flour and other goods. Food prices worldwide rose 13 per cent in March to a new record high due to the war in Ukraine, a major exporter of wheat and corn, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported.
Egg prices are expected to stay elevated, producers said, as it will take months to resume operations on infected farms. Infections also hamper work at facilities that process shell eggs into products like dried eggs and liquid eggs used in food items such as cake and pancake mixes and egg sandwiches.
Iowa, the top US egg-producing state, has suffered badly with the culling of two flocks that each contained more than 5 million laying chickens. On Wednesday, Nebraska said a flock of more than 1.7 million laying hens would be culled. The sheer size of such poultry operations accelerated the impact on the US food industry, compared to Europe where farms are smaller.
Wholesale prices for large eggs in the US Midwest topped $3 per dozen in March and reached the second-highest level ever, up nearly 200 per cent from a year earlier on the spot market, data firm Urner Barry said. Prices remained below the record of $3.09 per dozen set at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Egg products like liquid whole eggs are at record highs, though, Urner Barry said.
In France, wholesale shell egg prices have climbed 69 per cent from last year, French farm office FranceAgriMer said. As a result, consumers could see higher prices for food products made with eggs.
