Egg prices fall due to oversupply after bird flu shortages
Customers shop for eggs at an HEB grocery store in Austin, Texas, on May 11, 2026.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Egg prices are finally slowing down, which is a welcome development for consumers.
But now a new challenge is leaving producers struggling: They have too many eggs at a time when input costs are rising.
Producers say lower grocery prices are masking pressure from cost inflation as the market shifts towards a growing oversupply from last year’s avian flu-induced shortages.
“A year ago all anyone could talk about was how expensive eggs were because so many birds had sadly been lost,” said Thomas Flocco, CEO of egg producer Pete & Gerry’s.
“We’re facing an oversupply situation right now, so in some cases you’re seeing a dozen eggs for under a dollar,” Flocco said.
Egg prices fell 44.7% year-over-year in March 2026, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data; This marks a sharp reversal from last year’s surge during the bird flu pandemic. The decline follows a period of herd rebuilding that industry officials say has made producers wary of renewed shortages.
The price collapse puts new pressure on margins at a time when producers cannot afford it. While input costs such as feed, which increased in 2022 and 2023, have remained high for years, now fuel prices have also increased due to the war in Iran.
“All these cost pressures are coming into our cost structure,” Flocco said. “About half the cost of a dozen prime eggs is feed. Diesel has a direct impact. We have to drive to get those eggs.”
American Egg Board President and CEO Emily Metz echoed these concerns; He noted that feed, fuel and labor costs “have not gone away” and continue to put pressure on producers even as consumer demand returns and wholesale prices weaken.
protein punch
The good news for manufacturers, according to Flocco, is that demand is strong as the number of shoppers increases. Prioritize protein in their diet.
Four in 10 Americans say they’re focusing more on protein than they were five years ago, according to a new study commissioned by Pete & Gerry’s. It also noted that two-thirds of Americans eat eggs weekly, primarily for their protein, and many view whole foods like eggs as more nutritious than processed alternatives.
Customers looking for eggs at the grocery store recently found them in abundance and at good prices. However, for manufacturers, even this strong demand was not enough to eliminate the excess supply.
“What we’re seeing in the market today is more about supply recovery and timing changes than any fundamental change in consumption,” Sherman Miller, CEO of Cal-Maine Foods, the largest U.S. egg distributor, said in April.
Metz also noted that the current price weakness is not related to demand.
“[Prices] Reflects that supply is increasing faster than demand can meet as the trailing herd recovers [avian influenza]growth of small farms and increased productivity,” Metz said.
That hasn’t stopped President Donald Trump from taking credit for the drop in egg prices as he tries to increase affordability ahead of this fall’s midterm elections.
“We’ve lowered prices a lot,” Trump said Thursday. “It’s lower than it was four years ago.”
