Avian flu in the United States creates an egg shortage and increases prices

During a visit to a Walmart in Ozark, Missouri, in early January, Laura Modrell was surprised to see “standing and breathless” buyers in the dairy product section. By getting closer, she saw that the shelves, where stacks of egg boxes were normally, were almost empty.

“All normal -size egg boxes had practically disappeared,” said Mamerell. “I heard elderly people really upset. »»

Across the country, buyers of grocery stores are faced with empty shelves and higher prices in terms of inexpensive protein source: eggs.

And this may get worse.

The volatility of egg prices is part of the purchasing experience of grocery products in part because of inflation, but also because of avian flu, or avian flu, which has made its way to states -Unis in 2022. This flu, caused by the H5N1 virus, has so far, 136 million birds have been infected or killed.

But the epidemic recently intensified. More than 30 million chickens, or about 10 percent of the country’s laying population, have been killed in the last three months only, to prevent the spread of the disease. This could take months before the supply of laying hens returns to the normal level of around 318 million, or roughly the equivalent of a hen per person.

“This is the most devastating avian flu epidemic wave that we have known since it started to spread three years ago,” said Karyn Rispoli, editor -in -chief of eggs at Expana, A company that collects and follows the price of eggs. “And this time, the farms that supply the retail sector have been disproportionately affected, which leaves a gaping hole. »»