Producers suffer egg woes

Key takeaways

• After almost 21 million birds were affected by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza from January to March 2026, detections have decreased, with less than 10,000 birds affected so far in May. The resulting increase in egg supply comes during a time of softened demand.

• Retail prices for shell eggs are currently 62 percent less than in 2025, while prices paid to farmers for shell eggs have decreased 93 percent. Prices for breaker eggs, used for the liquid-egg market, have decreased to just 8 cents per dozen. That’s 96 percent less than in 2025 and well less than break-even levels.

• Prolonged periods of less than break-even prices could force farms out of the market and contribute to continued consolidation in the egg industry.

Egg markets have encountered massive volatility since outbreaks of HPAI began in 2022. Retail shell-egg prices hit a record level in 2025 but are now almost 60 percent less than a year ago as supplies have strengthened and HPAI cases declined. That demonstrates growing resilience in the poultry industry but as egg supplies rebound, prices are now decreasing while expenses remain inflated – threatening farm profitability.

Eggs meet varied needs

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2025 Chickens and Eggs Summary, a total of 105.25 billion eggs were produced in the United States in 2025. That’s a decrease of about 3.9 billion eggs or 4 percent from 2024 – reflecting impacts from HPAI. All eggs produced for human consumption are called table eggs. About 90.2 billion eggs, or 86 percent of all eggs produced in 2025, were table eggs. Meanwhile 15.2 billion, or about 14 percent, were hatching eggs used for producing chickens. Out of the table eggs produced for human consumption, about 30 percent or 31.6 billion, commonly called breaker eggs, went to specialized breaking facilities for the liquid-egg market. Liquid eggs are then converted into ingredients for industrial bakers, the food-service industry or other food manufacturers. The remaining unbroken table eggs, sold in cartons at the grocery store, are called shell eggs. About 60 percent of all eggs produced in the U.S. in 2025 or about 63.2 billion eggs were shell eggs.