'Promises Made, Promises Kept': White House Touts 'Good News' on Wholesale Egg Prices

Leah Barkoukis | March 18, 2025 9:45 AM

The average price of a dozen wholesale eggs has fallen drastically for the third week in a row, which will soon bring relief to cash-strapped consumers at the grocery store.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the average cost that distributors are charging retailers for a dozen white eggs was $4.15 compared to $6.85 last week.

Negotiated wholesale prices for graded loose eggs continued on a sharp downward trajectory as no significant outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have been reported in March to date and the supply situation is rapidly improving. Offerings are becoming more available with light demand for mostly moderate supplies and trading. Wholesale prices for national trading of trucklot quantities of graded, loose, White Large shell eggs declined $2.70 to $4.15 per dozen ... [...]
Demand for shell eggs declined sharply over the past week as resistance to current shell egg prices grows across all sectors. Slowing HPAI outbreaks are leading to improved supply availability and wholesale market prices have responded with sharp declines over the past week. However, these declines have yet to be reflected at store shelves and, until they are, demand is expected to remain dampened. Grocers have made progress in recent days in maintaining a more consistent stock of shell eggs but some of this is due to many offering little in the way of price incentives which helped to reduce or eliminate altogether much of the panic and opportunity buying seen in some markets in February. As shelleggs are becoming more available, the sense of urgency to cover supply needs has eased and many marketers are finding prices for spot market offerings are adjusting rapidly downward in their favor. (USDA)