U.S. Egg Production and Retail Prices

Updated July 3, 2025

U.S. Egg Production and Retail Prices

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S.

national average retail price of eggs per dozen hit an alltime high of $6.23 in March 2025 (Figure 1). Experts

attribute this in part to an outbreak of a highly contagious

and deadly viral disease in domestic poultry flocks that has

resulted in the loss of millions of birds since 2022. Fewer

birds means fewer eggs, a staple food in the American diet

with an estimated per capita consumption of 274 eggs in

2024. In response to these record high prices, some

consumers have illegally attempted to bring eggs across the

southern U.S. border or “rented” their own backyard

chicken flocks. Reports such as these, and those of some

retailers placing limits on egg purchases or certain

restaurants adding per-egg surcharges to cover rising food

prices, have led to congressional interest in the egg supply

chain. Further, the Secretary of Agriculture announced a

“five-pronged approach to address avian flu” in February

2025 “to deliver affordable eggs.” This In Focus

summarizes the state of the U.S. egg-laying flock,

production and price data from federal agencies, and policy

issues of potential interest to Congress.

State of the U.S. Poultry Sector

The H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza

(HPAI) has been affecting U.S. poultry flocks since

February 2022. H5N1 is a virulent strain of avian influenza

with a mortality rate in chickens that can reach as high as

100%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s)

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) tracks

flock infections; as of May 28, 2025, 1,704 flocks had been

confirmed as HPAI positive, affecting 173 million birds

since February 2022. Cases have occurred in all 50 states

and Puerto Rico. The United States’ primary control and

eradication strategy for HPAI in domestic poultry is

“stamping-out,” a strategy defined by the World

Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) that requires

euthanasia or “depopulation” of the entire flock upon

confirmation of HPAI infection in a single bird, followed

by appropriate disposal of carcasses and decontamination of

the areas that sick animals had come in contact with

thorough cleaning and disinfection. APHIS provides

indemnity payments to producers who must depopulate

their flock because of HPAI infection. In March 2025,

USDA increased the indemnity rate for layer hens from

about $7 to nearly $17 per lost bird.

Among all U.S. poultry flocks, table-egg-laying hens are

currently the most affected, accounting for 75% of domestic

poultry loss. One factor is that laying hens have longer

lifespans than other birds. Fewer such hens results in a

decrease in egg supply, which may increase retail prices.

Figure 1. Table Egg Production and U.S. Retail Egg Prices (per Dozen), January 2012-May 2025

Figure is interactive in HTML version of product.

Source: CRS. Data from USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Quick Stats database, “Eggs, Table–Production,” and U.S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index Average Data for dozen large eggs; adjusted for inflation (2025 dollars) using BLS

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

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U.S. Egg Production and Retail Prices

For example, the average national population of table-egglaying hens decreased 4.8% during the 2014-2015 HPAI

outbreak, according to CRS calculations using National

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) data, and U.S. retail

egg prices increased by approximately 50 cents per dozen

(Figure 1). The average number of table-egg-laying hens

was 5.3% less in 2024 than 2021, and U.S. retail egg prices

rose from an average of $1.97 in 2021 to $3.24 per dozen in

2024, in inflation-adjusted 2025 dollars. In 2025, retail egg

prices, per dozen, decreased from $6.23 in March to $5.12

in April following a decrease in wholesale egg prices, the

price paid by volume buyers, from a monthly average of

$5.33 per dozen in March to $3.74 per dozen in April. In

May 2025, the reported retail price of eggs decreased again

to $4.55 per dozen.

Egg Production and Price Reports

Table 1 summarizes egg-related economic reports

published by federal agencies that inform marketing and

buying decisions, and may be useful in policymaking.

Table 1. Egg Production and Prices Reported by

Federal Agencies

Agency

Report Name

Reported Figures

Agricultural

Marketing

Service (AMS),

USDA

Market News

reports, various

Wholesale and

retailer price, egg

inventory, demand

indicators, and more

Bureau of Labor

Statistics (BLS)

Consumer Price

Index (CPI)

Retail price of dozen

carton of shell eggs

Economic

Research

Service (ERS),

USDA

Monthly

Commodity

Outlook reports

and data, various

WASDE report

analysis, producer

returns, price

spreads, and more

National

Agricultural

Statistics Service

(NASS), USDA

Chickens and Eggs

report; Quick

Stats database

Bird inventory, shell

egg and egg products

production, and cold

storage inventory

World

Agricultural

Outlook Board,

USDA

World

Agricultural Supply

and Demand

Estimates

(WASDE) report

Annual forecast for

egg supply and use,

prices paid by New

York volume buyers

for Grade A eggs

Source: CRS.

Issues for Congress

Effects of the ongoing HPAI outbreak may continue to put

downward pressure on U.S. table egg supplies and upward

pressure on consumer retail prices for shell eggs and egg

products. Issues of potential congressional interest include

preventing HPAI though vaccination, increasing egg

supply, and examining competition in the poultry sector.

Develop Vaccination Strategy

A few U.S.-licensed vaccines exist for certain HPAI virus

subtypes, but none match the strain of the current poultry

outbreak. Vaccines effective against HPAI that can be

easily administered to an entire flock, such as through the

feed or drinking water supply, are not yet available. A bill

(H.R. 2868) introduced in the 119th Congress would add

HPAI vaccines as a USDA high-priority research area. In

accordance with WOAH international standards, the use of

vaccination does not affect a country’s HPAI-free status if

surveillance supports the absence of infection. However,

individual trading partners may decide not to accept U.S.

poultry products because of the possibility of viral shedding

in healthy-looking birds. One option to possibly mitigate

such action by trading partners is to direct the U.S. Trade

Representative (USTR) to preemptively negotiate

agreements with major U.S. trading partners to help ensure

continuity of trade. The Avian Flu Vaccination Strategy

Act (S. 908) would require the Secretary of Agriculture and

USTR to develop a vaccination strategy for poultry.

Increase Domestically Available Egg Supply

Increasing the egg supply in retail stores may reduce prices.

Unlike shell eggs, hatching eggs produce broiler chickens

and are not produced for consumption. The National

Chicken Council (NCC) petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) in 2023, and again in 2025, to allow

surplus hatching eggs produced by the broiler industry to be

sold to processors for use in egg-based products. NCC

claims that this action would release almost 400 million

eggs annually into the supply for processed egg products,

sparing the use of shell eggs for that purpose. A bill (H.R.

2222) introduced in the 119th Congress would require FDA

to allow for this use of hatching eggs by revising a 2009

final rule related to the prevention of Salmonella

contamination in table eggs. The Secretary of Agriculture

intends to explore importing eggs and decreasing exports.

The perishability and fragility of shell eggs, however, may

render them difficult to transport internationally. Further,

the United States imposes food safety standards—such as

requirements to wash shell eggs—that other countries may

not adhere to. Despite these complexities, the United States

imported 218 million shell eggs in January-March 2025, a

2,040% increase over January-March 2024. A portion of

2025 imports came from countries that had never exported

table eggs to the United States, such as Brazil.

Evaluate Competition in the Egg Sector

The relatively sharp rise from November 2024 through

March 2025 in retail egg prices (Figure 1), raised questions

among policymakers about the egg sector. Some Members

of Congress stated that “[e]gg producers and grocery stores

may leverage the current avian flu outbreak as an

opportunity to further constrain supply or hike up egg

prices to increase profits.” In April 2025, the largest U.S.

egg producer reported a 247% increase in quarterly net

income from the same period in 2024, announced its

acquisition of an egg processing company, and confirmed

reports that the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division

is investigating the causes behind nationwide increases in

egg prices. A bill (S. 1904) introduced in the 119th Congress

would restrict indemnified large egg producers from issuing

dividends to stockholders or repurchasing their own stock

for two years after receiving payment for HPAI-related

losses. Congress may consider examining consolidation

and/or anticompetitive behavior, such as price-fixing, in the

agriculture and food industries.

Lia Biondo, Analyst in Agricultural Policy

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IF12949

U.S. Egg Production and Retail Prices

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