Egg Prices Hit Record High Despite Trump’s Predictions/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ U.S. egg prices surged to a record $6.23 per dozen in March, defying expectations of a price drop. The increase comes despite lower wholesale prices and no new bird flu outbreaks. Experts say demand and supply dynamics—not Trump’s claims—are driving retail prices.
Record Egg Prices Persist: Quick Looks
- March consumer egg prices hit an all-time high of $6.23 per dozen.
- Prices rose even though wholesale egg costs dropped significantly last month.
- No new bird flu outbreaks were reported at U.S. egg farms during March.
- President Trump claimed credit for falling wholesale prices, predicting retail relief.
- Industry experts say Trump’s plan may help long-term, not immediately.
- High seasonal demand ahead of Easter continues to push prices upward.
- Over 168 million birds, mainly egg-laying chickens, have been culled since 2022.
- Farms recovering from fall bird flu outbreaks are gradually resuming production.
- Past outbreaks saw prices spike to $4.82 in Jan 2023, then fall, but are now climbing again.
- Egg supply remains vulnerable to wild bird transmissions and long recovery periods.
Egg Prices Hit Record High Despite Trump’s Predictions
Deep Look
Despite hopeful forecasts and a slowdown in the avian flu outbreak, U.S. egg prices rose sharply again in March, reaching a new record of $6.23 per dozen, according to Thursday’s Consumer Price Index report. The unexpected rise is challenging assumptions from both industry experts and President Donald Trump, who predicted that prices would begin to fall due to easing supply disruptions.
The price surge, reported by the Labor Department, arrives at a time when no egg farms reported bird flu outbreaks during the month and wholesale egg prices had dropped substantially. Many in the industry had anticipated that those wholesale declines would quickly translate into lower prices at the retail level—but the opposite occurred.
Trump, who has made egg prices a political talking point, attempted to claim credit for the recent decline in wholesale prices. He touted his administration’s focus on strengthening biosecurity protocols for egg producers as the reason for falling costs. However, analysts say that while those measures may help over time, they have not yet had a significant impact on the supply chain or consumer pricing.
“Demand for eggs typically remains high through Easter,” said one industry analyst, pointing to the seasonal spike in consumption. Easter falls on April 20 this year, and high demand usually keeps prices elevated through the holiday period.
The primary driver of this year’s initial price increases was the widespread outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which began in 2022 and led to the culling of over 168 million birds, most of them egg-laying hens. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, when a single bird tests positive for the virus, entire flocks—sometimes numbering in the millions—must be destroyed to prevent further spread.
While some egg farms affected last fall are resuming operations after completing barn sanitization and raising new flocks, full-scale production recovery takes months. This slow return to market, combined with continued demand and lingering fear of another outbreak, is helping to sustain high consumer prices.
Trump’s bird flu strategy includes investments in protective infrastructure and tighter oversight for commercial poultry operations. Yet, experts caution that avian flu spreads rapidly through wild bird droppings, making it difficult to fully control. The virus has even jumped species, infecting animals like dairy cattle, further complicating containment efforts.
The current price spike surpasses the January 2023 peak of $4.82 per dozen, which was previously the highest on record. Prices then fell to $2.04 in August 2023 before starting a slow and steady climb again as production challenges and uncertainty remained.
In the broader context, this episode illustrates the fragile nature of food supply chains and how factors such as disease outbreaks, seasonal demand, and political rhetoric can create mismatches between wholesale and retail pricing. Retailers often set prices based on past supply trends and risk buffers, rather than immediate wholesale rates, which may explain the delay in price relief for consumers.
As of now, there is no clear timeline for when consumers will see relief at the grocery store. Unless supply quickly stabilizes and demand drops after Easter, high egg prices may persist well into late spring or early summer.
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