12 eggs cost S$9.77 in New York as some US states hit by aggressive avian flu strain

Prices of chicken eggs in some parts of the United States are surging due to the recent aggressive strain of avian flu, which has resulted in millions of hen deaths and has strained supply.

There are outbreaks in California, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, the USDA said, according to ABC7 News.

Prices of eggs are expected to remain elevated for the rest of the year.

Egg prices up sharply

Manufacturers and egg wholesalers in the U.S. have drastically increased their prices in recent months to stifle demand and keep supply intact.

The wholesale price of large-carton eggs rose to US$7.24 (S$9.77) per dozen in New York, while in the Midwest it increased to US$6.84 (S$9.23).

In California, where cost of living is usually higher, large eggs actually declined to US$8.35 (S$11.27) per dozen.

The average price of a dozen large, grade-A eggs was US$4.15 (S$5.60) in December 2024, up from US$3.65 (S$4.93) in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Prices of eggs are up more than 36 per cent compared to a year ago, according to the Consumer Price Index.

Egg prices are estimated to increase about 20 per cent in 2025, compared to about 2.2 per cent for food prices in general, according to the price outlook by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Some grocers have put limits on how many eggs a shopper can buy on one trip in an effort to stretch their supply because people might panic buy eggs.

Millions of hens dead

While some states have evaded last year's outbreaks, many have reported a resurgence of the virus.

About 17.2 million egg-laying hens were killed in November and December 2024.

That's nearly half of all birds killed in 2024, according to the USDA.

The figure stands at more than 20 million egg-laying chickens dead for the last three months of 2024, according to CBS News.

About 8.3 million birds have died in January.

Birds culled as preventive measure

The record number of chicken deaths includes birds culled when infection is discovered in a flock.

To incentivise farmers to quickly report the virus and put a stop to it, a USDA programme pays producers for the eggs and poultry they cull.

Most birds that get culled are likely healthy but could end up as carriers of the disease.

Outbreak started in 2022

The outbreak started in 2022.

There are usually upticks in bird flu during winters because migrating wild birds that spread the virus fly south during the colder months.

California has been hit especially hard in recent months, forcing the state to declare a state of emergency to try to respond to the bird flu outbreak.

However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tallied only 66 confirmed human cases in the U.S. from bird flu viruses, CBS News reported.

Moreover, this winter, a strain of the bird flu virus has spilled over into dairy herds.

Hundreds of herds became infected as a result.

Top photo via Xinhua