Retail egg prices fall, following declining wholesale prices

In April 2025, the average retail egg price declined to $5.12 a dozen, down more than a dollar from its March peak. Wholesale egg prices tend to vary more than retail egg prices, frequently fluctuating in response to factors such as seasonal demand and supply chain disruptions. Retail egg prices are influenced by wholesale egg prices, but additional factors such as pricing strategies and contracts can mute the impact of short-term fluctuations. As a result, retail price movements tend to lag directional changes made by wholesale prices. When wholesale prices spike, retailers occasionally and temporarily have sold eggs at a loss. As wholesale prices retreat, retail prices are slower to decline and often remain elevated for a longer period. The wave of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) that spanned from mid-October 2024 through early March 2025 resulted in the depopulation of 50.7 million egg-laying hens. The losses in egg layers coincided with the approach of the winter holidays, when egg demand is traditionally strong. Strong egg demand coupled with tight supplies contributed to both wholesale and retail egg prices surging to all-time highs by February 2025. In March 2025, daily wholesale prices fell early in the month because of a decline in egg demand combined with a pause in new HPAI confirmations. By April, as seasonal egg demand declined and despite low inventories, the monthly average wholesale price had fallen to $3.74 per dozen, down from $8.20 in February. This chart was drawn from USDA, Economic Research Service’s April 2025 Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook and has been updated with recent data.