A NATIONAL SHORTAGE of eggs in the US has become a burden for customers and suppliers alike right now – while also being latched onto as a symbol of early failures of the Trump administration by critics.

The latest monthly US Consumer Price Index showed a dozen Grade A eggs cost an average of $5.90 (€5.40) in US cities in February, hot on the heels of January’s already record-high price of $4.95.

Irish man David Traynor in New York is having to reckon with the higher end of that average, noting that prices easily reach up to $10 for a dozen eggs – if you can get them.

Ten dollars is the equivalent of €9.19 here. By comparison, a box of a dozen free-range eggs in an Irish supermarket can cost between €4 and €4.60.

“You go into the supermarket and you don’t know what you’re going to face. It could be bare shelves or it could be totally full.

“But when they’re totally full, you don’t know what the prices are gonna be,” the Cabinteely native told The Journal.

If I’m getting them for under $10 I’m delighted.

It all “motivates people to hoard” by snapping up multiple boxes at a time, Traynor said, with some supermarkets responding by rationing the number of eggs customers can buy.

Traynor, a language teacher who has lived in New York since 2016 and runs a podcast about US politics called The Week, said it has “upended” the market, as organic eggs are now often cheaper to buy than the formerly low-cost eggs laid by chickens in cages.

From a supermarket in New York David Traynor David Traynor

February’s record-high figure was a rise of more than 10% since last year, driven by inflation and an outbreak of avian flu. 

The virus was first detected in a commercial flock in February 2022 but has continued to spread. The last quarter of 2024 saw more than 20 million egg-laying chickens die due to bird flu. This amounted to 5% of the overall number in the US industry.

As the agriculture sector has sought to get a grip on the disease, it has taken the step of culling more than 166 million birds.

This drop in supply has resulted in surcharges for products containing eggs, which are increasingly being used in cafes and restaurants. In some, signage warns of temporary price increases due to the nationwide eggs shortage combined with inflation.

Cafes have upped their prices in response to the egg shortage. David Traynor David Traynor

The shortage has particularly hit wholesalers, who have seen the prices rise by astronomical amounts in some parts of the US.

Brent Starkey, a wholesaler for Castle Rock Meats in Denver, Colorado, told The Journal that it used to cost his firm $20-$30 (around €18.40-€27.50) for consignments containing 15 boxes of a dozen eggs.

That has now jumped as high as $159 per box – €146 – due to bird flu outbreaks, which is around a five-fold increase.

“Whenever it’s suspected that a flock has a case of it, they’ll basically just wipe out the entire flock, trying to just get rid of it,” Starkey said. “So that has caused a total decrease in the amount of laying eggs that are available.”

Some restaurants in Denver have “stopped serving breakfast due to high costs” amid the current shortage, Starkey added.

“Breakfast was probably the highest margin meal that there is because eggs were cheap,” he explained. “With the price of eggs the way they are, those margins are cut in half in some in some cases.”

Traynor, the Dubliner, has also experienced difficulty in making meals at home because of the “wild” prices. 

“We could absolutely survive without them but I’ve three kids and eggs are a cheap, easy way to get protein. Well, it’s not cheap anymore.”

Decreases seen this week

A corner is being slowly turned according to data released this week by US agriculture officials, which saw a decline of $1.20 for a dozen eggs. On the New York market, this was slightly better at a $1.35 decline in prices.

But it’s a long way to go, warned Starkey, with prices still far higher than previous years and wholesalers yet to see a similar easing of prices.

“At one point they were as high as $8 a carton for 12 eggs, and now they’re down to about five or six. So we’re starting to see a little bit of a decrease but what’s wild is we don’t see it on our end.”

The price of eggs have become a political issue for the Trump administration, with placards at protests sometimes referencing the rising costs.

Traynor said it still appears that Donald Trump is experiencing a honeymoon period despite the prices.

“Trump came to power wanting to quell inflation but I think they know if they don’t get it under control, and if it mushrooms with tariffs, then it will be short-lived.”

With reporting by Sam Starkey