Egg prices continue to increase despite bird flu outbreak slowing

By JOSH FUNK Associated Press Business Writer U S egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of despite a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks The increase announced Thursday in the Consumer Price Index means consumers and businesses that rely on eggs should not anticipate immediate relief Demand for eggs is typically elevated until after Easter which falls on April Related Articles Former Facebook executive tells Senate committee company undermined US national protection with China US Postal Utility seeks to hike cost of a first-class stamp to cents Wall Street s euphoria sends US stocks to historic gains after Trump pauses majority of his tariffs IRS acting commissioner is resigning after deal to share immigrants tax information with ICE US expected a big excursion year but overseas visitors angered by Trump are heading elsewhere Industry experts were expecting the index to reflect a drop in retail egg prices because wholesale egg prices dropped significantly in March Bird flu outbreaks were cited as the major cause of price spikes in January and February after more than million egg-laying chickens were killed to prevent the spread of the disorder Particular farms that had fall outbreaks are resuming egg production after sanitizing their barns and raising new flocks President Donald Trump tried to take credit for the lower wholesale egg prices the U S Department of Agriculture shared in newest weeks But experts say the president s plan to fight bird flu by focusing on strengthening egg farmers defenses against the virus is likely to be more of a long-term help Since the current bird flu outbreak began more than million birds have been slaughtered the bulk of them egg-laying chickens Any time a bird gets sick the entire flock is killed to help keep bird flu from spreading That can have an effect on the egg supply because massive egg farms may have millions of birds The malady is laborious to control because it is spread easily through the droppings of wild birds that carry the avian flu virus Bird flu has also inflected other animals including dairy cattle Earlier in the outbreak egg prices spiked to hit in January before gradually falling as low as per dozen in August Generally prices have since increased steadily