Eggs $9 For A Dozen In CA, Federal Officials Say

CALIFORNIA — The price of a dozen eggs in California was nearly $9 at the year’s end, amid new bird flu cases in the state and holiday demand.

The benchmark for a carton of large-shell eggs in the Golden State was $8.97 as of Dec. 27, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up from $5.28 less than a month ago and far higher than the 2024 low price of $2.15 back in mid-May.

“Demand for shell eggs posted a slight rise into the last two weeks of the year, supported by concerns over tight supplies due to persistent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in layer flocks,” the department said in last week’s Egg Markets Overview. “These flock losses, coming at a critical demand point, have driven wholesale prices past the record levels set in December 2022 when … outbreaks had a similar impact on the market.”

Since early December, the flu has been detected in commercial flocks in Riverside, Merced, Monterey, Tulare, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Sacramento and Fresno counties, as well as in some backyard flocks, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

State officials in December declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, which was tearing through dairy cows in California and causing sporadic illnesses in people.

An additional complication for California regarding the sale of eggs is a 2018 ballot measure dictating that eggs produced or sold in the state must be cage-free, limiting resources to supplement the supply, according to NerdWallet.