In early January, Laura Modorel, who visited Wal -Mart in Ozak, Missouri, was surprised to see a shopper in a dairy corner of a grocery store “standing and breathing.” When I approached, I saw most of the shelves where the egg packs were piled up almost empty.
“The normal size egg pack has almost disappeared,” said Modorel. “I heard that some elderly people were really upset.”
Overview of food stores around the country facing the fact that the shelves are empty and the prices of eggs, which were traditionally inexpensive protein sources, are soaring.
And it can get worse.
The price of eggs is part of food shopping due to inflation, but also affected by bird flu that invaded the United States in 2022. The influenza was caused by the H5n1 virus, and 136 million birds have been infected or died.
However, the trend has recently intensified. To prevent the spread of illness, more than 30 million chickens, which are equivalent to about 10 % of the number of egg collection in Japan, have been killed in the past three months. It may take several months to return to about 318 million birds (equivalent to one person per person), which is the normal level.
“This is the most catastrophic waves of the bird flu that we have experienced since we began to spread three years ago,” said Karin Lespoli, the editor -in -chief of the company, which tracks egg collection and price. He said. “And this time, the farms corresponding to the retail department have been unreasonably influenced, which has a big hole.”
The number of egg collection chicken has dropped dramatically, and the wholesale price of chicken eggs is soaring. According to EXPANA, grocery stores and restaurants are currently paying about $ 7 for one dollar of eggs, and has been a record level from $ 2.25 last fall.
Customers are aware of the rise in egg prices, but the prices of eggs for consumers are 37 % higher than a year ago, but have not yet fully realized the lack of shortage. Food shops usually set prices such as milk and eggs as “loss leaders”. In other words, it is sold cheaper than the wholesale price paid by the store to guide customers to the store.
Karen Mereta, a spokeswoman for Wake Fann, a supermarket cooperative owned by retail, which operates shop lights and gourmet garde, has been a statement by e -mail, and the food store has been trying to maintain the price of the egg. “It is difficult to balance especially considering the situation,” he said. It is the volatility of the market and the uncertainty due to the continuation of these expansion. “
Overviews, shoppers noticed that the shelves were empty and the number of cartons that could be purchased was restricted. It can be a panic, and the fear that shoppers may not be able to find it later can lead to stocking eggs.
Before Thanksgiving, Sarah Joy Haze, owner of a bakery counter space in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said: It is said that less than $ 2 paid for the 1 -dozen required for chocolate chip cookies and quiche. However, the price began to rise rapidly. After the seller presented a price of $ 7.86 with 12 eggs, she jumped into the car and went to the nearby Sams Club, where 12 eggs were purchased for $ 3.86.
“The number of eggs that can be purchased at Sams Club is limited, so we have to do it multiple times,” said Heiz. “But at the moment I feel like I stealed my contract, so I'll do it.”
During the presidential election, Donald J. Trump has accused the Biden administration inflation and promised to reduce prices for consumers. The spread of bird flu will make the pledge even more difficult. Unaided Producerers, an egg producer lobby activity organization, expanded funds to the Congress and the Trump administration at the state and the federal level to develop funds for the development of potential genes. , He requested that the national strategy to fight against the bird flu will be promptly moved. vaccine.
At a hearing on Thursday, President Brook Rollins said: He, President Trump's candidate for the Secretary of Agriculture, told the Senator that one of the highest priority was to “understand the occurrence of animal diseases immediately and comprehensively”, but did not clarify the details. Ta.
Egg -producing farms cannot immediately provide support for finding a virus solution.
Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Jason Ramsdel, a poultry farming industry in the countryside of South Dakota and California, recently had a bird flu in December, and gained 40,000 chickens rated in California. Is dead. The federal government has paid compensation to birds that must be disposed of, but Ms. Ramsdel will still be losing “tens of thousands of dollars”, and at least 6 to re -increase the chicken. He said that it would take month. work.
“Anyone who is currently involved in the animal industry should be nervous,” says Ramsdel. “I don't think this will stop until we unite and get a solid answer about what is happening.”
Federal health authorities have carefully monitored the latest bird flu for chicken, but are usually infected by cows that recover from influenza by treatment.
Currently, the disease management prevention center states that the risk of the human body is still low, and low -temperature sterile milk products can be taken safely. Eggs can be safely eaten as long as they are cooked at the right temperature to kill bacteria and viruses, but they are costly. Analysts have warned that they are more likely to rise in the future and are likely to expand the gaps in stores.
“It may take six months to stabilize the market,” said Brian Moscoujuri, Vice President of New Jersey's wholesaler Eggs Hanryimited. “It is necessary to see the trend of bird influenza. It is necessary to have a period in which the farm can be breeding again without being affected, and it is necessary to see that demand starts to slow down.”
The virus also attacked a farm that breeds chicks sold for egg collection, in addition to infection with bean chicken. A farm that kills chicken infected with viruses will have to wait longer until the operation resumes.
“Even if you order a chick today, you may not be able to receive it until April or October of 2026,” Liscoli said.
All kinds of poultry are easily infected with the H5N1 virus. Infections have been reported at Turkish offices, and analysts in the food industry are the first in broilers in broilers, which are currently raised in Georgia, the largest poultry and fope in the country. The report is carefully monitored.
According to Matthew Agvent, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture, two farms near each other in northern Georgia were confirmed in mid -January, and about 175,000 chickens were disposed of.
However, in order to reduce the spread of infection, the state ordered a isolation area of ​​10.9 km around the two farms, restricting the ability to deliver chicken to processors without special approval. Agben said.
Chicken egg producers have been increasingly calling on members of the Diet to promptly work on the development and administration of domestic chicken and birds.
But a vaccine may not be eradicated Professor Chad Heart, a professor at Iowa State University, said that the fashion was continuing. In addition to the uncertainty for vaccination for more than 300 million birds, bird flu is constantly changing, so you may miss a new species that occurs. In fact, in early January, the US Ministry of Agriculture said that none of the vaccines available in the market would match the current toxic stocks found in recent trends.
Heart also said that vaccination to all birds in the United States could damage poultry exports. The United States exports about $ 5.5 billion poultry meat every year.
“If the country is different, the standards for vaccination will be different,” said Heart. “Vaccines have been used for many years as a reason to prevent imports and exports from various countries.”
