Chicken eggs have disappeared from shop shelves in the US due to the bird flu epidemic
American consumers have faced a sharp reduction in the supply of chicken eggs, empty counters and at the same time a sharp rise in prices for products amid the bird flu epidemic that has engulfed the United States, media reports.
In the suburbs of Washington, the product has been absent for not the first day.
‘Due to the nationwide reduction, we have no eggs for sale. We apologise for the inconvenience,’ reads a sign posted in the department of a grocery shop.
Employees of the outlet told reporters that deliveries were continuing, but had been drastically reduced while consumers were agitated.
‘I heard it’s because of the epidemic. There are deliveries, but everything we get in the morning is immediately flying away,’ the seller said.
At the same time, the fixed price for eggs in the chain outlet, according to employees, there is no longer.
‘We write the price by hand, so what it will be, I can’t say,’ the cashier admitted.
Several other shops near Washington are also out of chicken eggs, and where the product is still on the shelf, the cost has increased markedly. At the outlet where the price has jumped from about six dollars nine for a carton of 12 eggs. And there is no longer a guarantee of supply, even at a price a third higher than usual.
‘We don’t know if there will be eggs next week. They’re not available anywhere in the county. It’s an epidemic. No chickens, no eggs,’ the vendor summarised.
In the American capital itself, eggs have also been sporadically absent from the shelves of individual supermarkets during the week. On Saturday, one of the shops did show up, and the owners literally filled all the shelves in the section with eggs, which had never happened before.
The prices of goods when bought online vary greatly. The cost of eggs starts at $4.7 for a carton of 12 eggs and goes up to $12 without sales tax.
Based on data from the American statistical office, the average cost of eggs in the United States at the end of December reached the highest since the winter of 2023, $4.15 per dozen. This product became more expensive in America for the second month in a row, compared to November 2024, the average cost added another 13.6 per cent.
In January, the average cost of eggs reached $6.12 for the same carton according to Trading Economics and continues to rise.