The highly concentrated egg market may be contributing to soaring consumer prices – and the spread of the virus, data shared exclusively with the Guardian shows

Summary

Major egg corporations may be using avian flu as a ruse to hike up prices, generating record profits while hurting American consumers, new research suggests.

  • Egg prices soared to nearly $5 a dozen, rising 157% since before the avian flu outbreak, despite only a 9% drop in laying hens.

  • Cal-Maine, controlling 20% of the US market, saw a sevenfold profit increase in 2023 compared to 2021.

  • Over 166 million poultry have been culled, but critics say consolidation and slow flock replacement may inflate prices beyond the virus’s 12-24% direct cost.

Lawmakers urge investigations, while the Trump administration plans vaccines, reduced culling, and a $1bn avian flu fund to help stabilize costs.

  • @Boddhisatva
    24•15 hours ago

    No wait, what if they changed the package and put less in it and charged more?

    I was shopping a few weeks ago and noticed that every single package said something like ‘5 times as much as a standard roll’ or 10 times or 20 times. Nothing said it was a standard roll. Some quick math told me that they all have their own definition of what a standard roll is too.

    • @Sabin10
      6•14 hours ago

      I’ve noticed that 2x rolls of toilet paper usually have the most sheets per roll. 3x rolls tend to lean in to the fact that they are 3 play and use a standard 1 ply roll as their base point so they have the same sheet count. 2x rolls seem to use a standard 2 ply roll as their base so the standard roll is the same sheet count as a 1 ply roll but actually has close to double the sheet count of the 3x rolls. It’s weird.