Easter 2022: Inflation, bird influenza causing rise in egg prices
Bird flu has reportedly spread to at least 24 states
FOX Business Flash top headlines for April 6
Here are your FOX Business Flash top headlines for April 6.
Consumers are heading back to stores yet again to stock up on eggs ahead of Easter.
However, the price tag on egg cartoons has recently surged thanks to inflation and the outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian influenza – otherwise known as bird flu – around the nation.
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According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), California and regional egg prices have recently increased for all egg sizes. Prices jumped 31 cents for jumbo, 31 to 81.5 cents for extra-large, 30 to 81.5 cents for large, 7 to 70.5 cents for medium, and 10 cents for small, according to the data released this week.
Boiled eggs in a bowl. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe / AP Newsroom)
Comparatively, "New York egg prices are unchanged on all sizes," according to the report.
However, officials previously cautioned that egg, turkey and chicken prices could rise and availability could drop if birds at enough farms were to be infected. Entire flocks are destroyed and composted on farms when bird flu is detected in order to stop the contagious virus from spreading to other flocks. This means a smaller supply of eggs.
To date, the virus has been detected in at least 24 states, resulting in the death of nearly 23 million birds, according to NPR.
Cage-free chickens walk in a fenced pasture at an organic farm near Waukon, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File / Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, consumer inflation in February jumped 7.9% on an annual basis, the sharpest spike since 1982. Grocery costs alone jumped 1.4%, the sharpest one-month increase since 1990, other than during a pandemic-induced price surge two years ago.
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More specifically, meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 1.2% in February, according to the labor department.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.