Cracking under Pressure: America’s Egg Prices
What’s causing egg prices to skyrocket?
—By Jack Lam
“I used to grab eggs without even checking the price,” says Eric Ly, a University of Michigan junior studying business. “Now I find myself hesitating, doing the math in my head about whether or not they fit in my grocery budget. It’s just eggs, you know? It shouldn’t be this complicated.”
In the quiet college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a simple trip to the grocery store has become a source of sticker shock for many residents. Egg prices have soared dramatically over the past year, leaving consumers questioning whether this essential protein source has become a luxury item.
The local perspective
At Argus Farm Stop, a local food marketplace connecting Ann Arbor residents with nearby farmers, owner Bill Brinkerhoff has witnessed the tension between farmers’ needs and consumer expectations firsthand.
“Our local egg farmers have been struggling with increased feed costs and biosecurity measures,” Brinkerhoff explained during our interview. “Many of them are small-scale producers who can’t absorb these costs the way large corporations can. They’re not raising prices to boost profits, they’re doing it to stay afloat.” Brinkerhoff also maintains that the feed costs alone have increased by nearly 40% for some of the local farmers. Then add in fuel for deliveries, packaging costs, and the ongoing threat of avian influenza, and egg producers have no choice but to pass on increased costs to the consumer.
Meanwhile, at bigger supermarkets such as the Kroger on Plymouth Road, shoppers express frustration at the register.
“I used to pay around $2.50 for the cheapest dozen of eggs. Now I’m seeing prices close to $5 for the same carton,” said Ann Arbor resident Maria Thompson while shopping for her family of four. “Eggs are not the budget-friendly option they once were.”
Brinkerhoff urges consumers that even with increased costs, they should consider buying from local producers due to the transparency of direct farm-to-consumer relationships. “When you buy from local farmers, you see exactly who benefits from that extra dollar. It’s not going to corporate profits but instead it’s helping a family farm survive another season.”
The avian influenza factor
The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak has been cited as a primary driver of egg price increases. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, more than 58 million birds across 47 states were affected by HPAI outbreaks in 2022, making it the deadliest outbreak in US history.
Maciej Dudek, an agricultural economics professor at University of Michigan, explains the significance of the avian flu problem: “When a commercial flock tests positive for avian influenza, the entire flock must be culled to prevent spread. This has led to the loss of millions of egg-laying hens, creating a significant supply shock in the market.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the H5N1 bird virus strain has shown unusual persistence in wild bird populations, creating ongoing threats to commercial flocks despite biosecurity measures.
Brinkerhoff of Argus Farm Stop confirmed this challenge: “Our local farmers have had to implement expensive biosecurity protocols. Some have installed new ventilation systems, others have restricted access to their facilities, and all of them are constantly monitoring their flocks for any signs of disease.”
Although avian flu can be a determining factor in the price increase of eggs, further research suggests that it also may not be the sole factor. According to researchers at the Thünen-Institut of Market Analysis, studies of the 2014-2015 avian flu crisis in the US, which were reflective of our current bird flu epidemic, concluded that “an increase of 1 million infected birds in 1 week leads to an average price increase of 1.1% for eggs.” When extrapolating these findings and applying them to our current situation, expert estimates of 58 million infected birds should in theory only equate to roughly 58% increase in prices, but that is not the case. In Ann Arbor’s case, eggs have soared over 100%, and in other parts of the country like California, eggs rose more than 70% in 2024 and have risen nearly 30% thus far in 2025, bringing the total increase to over 120%, even though California is one of the largest producers of eggs in the country, with over 4 billion eggs laid in 2023. These record increases cause suspicion that other factors may be at play.
Beyond bird flu: additional market factors
The bird flu has also increased the cost of egg-laying chicks. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, flocks used to provide eggs for laying hens are susceptible to avian influenza just like any other birds. Thus, farmers also need to pay more to replace their egg-laying flocks.
“It’s not just one thing,” noted Brinkerhoff. “Our farmers are dealing with higher costs across the board—feed, labor, fuel for transportation, packaging materials. The pandemic disrupted everything, and we haven’t fully recovered.”
But even accounting for chick price increases, inflation regarding costs of bird feed, etc, prices of eggs on shelves have still increased at a faster rate than costs, so what else could be happening?
The price gouging question
Consumer advocacy groups have raised concerns about potential price gouging by major egg producers. Farm Action, a farmer-led advocacy organization, sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission in January 2023 urging an investigation into the egg industry, particularly Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the United States.
The letter cited Cal-Maine’s record profits during the price increases, noting that the company reported a 110% profit increase in its December 2022 financial report filing while claiming avian influenza justified the higher consumer prices, despite reporting no positive cases in its own flocks.
This is not the first time Cal-Maine has been suspected of price-gouging. In 2011, major food companies, including Kraft and General Mills, sued the biggest egg producers and industry trade groups, claiming that they had colluded to reduce the supply of eggs in order to increase the price. The case went to a jury, which in 2023 found that the egg producers had unlawfully inflated prices. The producers were told to pay $17.7 million in damages, a figure that under antitrust law was tripled to $53 million.
Dudek, who has recently been researching the economic effects of the egg consumer market, offers perspective. “The egg industry is highly concentrated, with the top five producers controlling over 40% of the market. This concentration creates conditions where price coordination becomes easier, even without explicit collusion.”
When asked about potential price gouging, Brinkerhoff responded, “I can’t speak to what large corporations are doing, but I know our local farmers aren’t profiteering. Their margins are actually thinner now despite charging higher prices.”
And it does seem that way. The vast majority of complaints online about rising egg prices are only for eggs on grocery store shelves, owned by big conglomerates and supplied by producers who have a monopoly over the supply. It also does not help that very few egg producers are public companies and are instead private, meaning that they are not liable to reveal financial reports regarding their costs of goods sold and profit margin.
Consumer adaptation
Ann Arbor residents are finding various ways to adapt to higher egg prices.
“I’ve started buying directly from a local farm through a community market,” said Kroger shopper Denise Williams. “It’s still more expensive than eggs used to be, but at least I know I’m supporting a local business rather than a corporation that might be inflating prices unnecessarily.”
University students have developed their own strategies. “A bunch of us in my apartment building take turns buying bulk items and sharing them,” explained my classmate, UM sophomore Taylor Jackson. “We’ve also started looking for protein alternatives like beans and tofu, which haven’t seen the same price increases.”
Some consumers are questioning their purchasing habits more fundamentally. “I’m more conscious about food waste now,” said Williams. “If I’m paying premium prices for eggs, I make sure to use every last one before they expire.”
A complex picture
After interviewing local business owners, consumers, students, and analyzing expert research, it can be concluded that Ann Arbor’s egg price surge reflects a combination of legitimate supply constraints and potentially problematic market dynamics.
Professor and Department Head of Economics at U-M, David Miller, whose research areas include social networks and contracts, suggests that both supply disruptions and market concentration may play roles in the current price environment.
“The data suggests a complex scenario,” Miller explained over email. “We have legitimate supply constraints from avian influenza and higher input costs, but we also have an industry structure that allows major producers to use these disruptions as cover for potentially excessive price increases.”
While avian influenza has undeniably disrupted supply, the degree of price increases raises questions about whether major producers are using the crisis to maximize profits beyond what market conditions would naturally allow.
For local farmers and the businesses that support them, like Argus Farm Stop, the higher prices reflect genuine cost increases rather than opportunistic pricing. “Our farmers are just trying to keep their operations viable,” Brinkerhoff emphasized. “They’re passionate about providing quality, humanely-raised eggs to the community, but they can’t do it at a loss.”
As investigations by federal agencies continue, Ann Arbor consumers remain caught in the middle—forced to make difficult budgeting decisions while navigating a market where necessity meets questionable pricing practices.
“At the end of the day, people need to eat,” concluded Ly. “When basic food items become luxury goods, we need to ask serious questions about our food system and get to the bottom of what’s happening.”
Feature Photo, Flickr, Creative Commons Use License