Wholesale prices for table eggs are typically variable, reflecting changes in supply, demand, as well as seasonal patterns, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak between December of 2014 and June of 2015 led to a significant reduction in the supply of eggs, and a corresponding spike in prices. The market continues to adjust today.

As the outbreak intensified in the spring of 2015, the price of a dozen “grade A” large eggs in the New York market increased from $1.29in April to $2.61 in August. In the two years prior to the outbreak, the average price of a dozen eggs in this market was $1.33.

According to USDA, prices remained elevated through the remainder of 2015 as producers worked to rebuild capacity. As production returned to pre-outbreak levels in early 2016, however, prices fell sharply to a low of 63 cents/doz. in May 2016, the lowest price since July 2006, before increasing modestly in June and July.