K A S H R U T . C O M_©

September 25, 2024 from the CNN:

"Supermarket prices are no longer skyrocketing – except, of course, if you’re buying eggs.

"Egg prices spiked by 28.1% in August from 12 months ago, easily the biggest increase out of any food item tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"The sticker shock in the egg aisle comes even as overall grocery prices are barely budging (up less than 1% in August from last year) and inflation cools across the US economy.

"The main culprit for rising egg prices is a familiar one: bird flu.

"Birds are getting sick, and that means fewer eggs and higher prices at the grocery store. Mp>"Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), more commonly known as the bird flu, has impacted nearly 101 million birds across 48 US states since January 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Part of the problem may lie in consolidation. Like other industries, the egg industry has experienced a wave of mergers that has left the nation more reliant on only a handful of large producers.

"As of 2020, the five biggest egg companies controlled between 36% and 40% of all egg-laying hens in the United States, according to a recent report by Farm Action, a group that fights corporate control of the food system.