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Egg prices are already at an all-time high, and, according to a USDA estimate, they’re only likely to get more expensive as the year continues.
According to a US Department of Agriculture projection, egg prices are expected to increase by 41 percent this year.
Skyrocketing egg prices are largely the result of a widespread bird flu outbreak that forced a mass culling of egg-laying birds. With fewer birds, there are fewer eggs, and with scarcity comes increased cost.
The USDA issued its prediction on Tuesday, showing that prices for the rest of the year are expected to double the already 20 percent spike in egg prices the agency warned about a month ago.
The average price for a dozen eggs went up to $4.95 — a record — more than doubling their $2.52 per dozen cost a year prior. And that’s just the average — in some place, eggs can go for as much as $10 for a carton.
Some businesses have taken steps to try to lessen the blow of the soaring egg prices. Waffle House has started tacking on a 50-cent per egg surcharge for its menu offerings. Denny’s is doing the same.
While eggs have become a pricy buy, the price of chicken meat has not changed much due to the bird flu. That’s primarily because broiler chickens — the chickens we eat — haven’t had their numbers decimated by the flu the way that egg-laying hens have.
Donald Trump has been questioned about what his administration plans to do to help address soaring egg prices.
Trump said on Friday that his Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, will do “something” about the egg prices.
“She’s going to do something with the eggs,” Trump said. He insisted that “we inherited all the problems.”
One problem he didn’t inherit was the firing of USDA workers who were actively trying to combat the bird flu. Last week, the USDA announced that it had accidentally fired “several” employees working on the federal government’s response to the flu.
The cuts were part of Trump and Elon Musk’s broader goal of dismantling the federal government.
“They need to be more cautious,” Republican Representative Don Bacon, who is a member of the Agriculture Committee, told NBC News about Musk’s DOGE team. “There’s an old saying, ‘Measure twice, cut once.’ Well, they are measuring once and having to cut twice. Some of this stuff they’re going to have to return back. I just wish they’d make a better decision up front.”
