The Trump administration’s economic policies and mismanagement of the bird flu response are only making matters worse, generating record-high egg prices that continue to hurt families and small businesses, including farms and restaurants. Families are seeing higher prices at restaurants and in grocery stores—when not finding the shelves empty. Meanwhile, egg farmers and businesses who want to keep prices affordable are also suffering from the administration’s policy failures. Unless the administration changes its approach, egg prices could remain high for the foreseeable future.
High egg prices hit American families and businesses
According to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, retail egg prices have risen more than 60 percent since March 2024, reaching $6.23 for a dozen large, Grade A eggs in March 2025—the highest price ever recorded.
Consumers struggling to afford groceries are worried about these price increases. A March 2025 KFF poll found that nearly 90 percent of adults in the United States are concerned that the bird flu will increase food costs. Additionally, more than one-third of Americans said they have stopped buying eggs this year because of high prices.
Small businesses such as restaurants and cafes that rely on affordable wholesale prices will be forced to either absorb elevated costs or mark up prices for their customers to offset them. Restaurant chains such as Waffle House and Denny’s have already started imposing an egg surcharge on consumers. One diner owner in New York expects to pay $70,000 more for eggs this year than in the previous year, a cost that would devastate his business. In contrast to retail egg prices, wholesale prices for eggs declined in March, which may provide some relief for businesses and consumers ahead of Easter and Passover—holidays during which eggs play a notable role. Even so, retail egg prices remain significantly higher than in the past four years.
Egg farmers—particularly those on smaller, family-owned farms—are also experiencing significant financial losses while encountering high labor and production costs. The producer price index (PPI), which reflects prices received by producers, points to a major rise in input costs for egg farmers: The USDA predicts producer prices will increase 164 percent in 2025 compared with 2024 prices. Despite recent declines, wholesale egg prices are 167 percent higher now than at this time last year.
The Trump administration’s inadequate bird flu response is making matters worse
During his campaign, President Donald Trump promised to address inflation and bring down egg prices “on Day One.” Instead, the administration’s mismanagement of the bird flu outbreak is having the opposite effect.
In February, the administration reported that it was considering pulling funding from Moderna for the development of its bird flu vaccine, mRNA-1018, and pausing crucial bird flu public health communications. In the same month, the Trump administration released a $1 billion plan to combat bird flu that aims to reduce the price of eggs but falls short of addressing the underlying causes of bird flu. This measure was announced as the administration fired and then struggled to rehire the key public health personnel needed to administer the strategy, including scientists, testers, and inspectors who were managing the bird flu response. On April 1, the administration fired the chief and other senior Food and Drug Administration veterinarians who were overseeing investigations for the bird flu response. This inadequate response from the Trump administration could escalate the nationwide shortage of eggs and the bird flu’s threat to public health.
Bird flu currently poses a low risk to the public but a more significant risk to dairy and poultry workers who do not have proper protection. To date, there have been 70 confirmed human cases of bird flu and one fatality in the United States. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested letting the virus “run through the flock” to identify birds that may be immune to the bird flu, a strategy that experts say could further endanger animals and farmworkers and devastate small, family-run egg production farms. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, whose department has broad jurisdiction over farms, has expressed support for the idea.
Retail egg prices have risen more than 60 percent since March 2024, reaching $6.23 for a dozen large, Grade A eggs in March 2025—the highest price ever recorded.
Additionally, activity at the U.S.-Mexico border—and, to some extent, the U.S.-Canada border—reveals that high egg prices are escalating the prohibited practice of importing raw eggs that are not properly inspected by U.S. food safety authorities. The number of egg product seizures is more than 13 times higher than the number of fentanyl seizures at the border so far in fiscal year 2025. The Trump administration is now resorting to importing eggs from Turkey, South Korea, and other countries, while also imposing sweeping new tariffs on goods from across the globe. Applying these tariffs to imported eggs could further drive up prices for consumers.
Conclusion
The Trump administration’s inadequate response to the bird flu is failing families, farmers, and small businesses. If the administration continues to slash essential public health programs and fails to control the spread of bird flu, egg prices could remain high through Passover, Easter, and beyond.
The authors would like to thank Mimla Wardak for her fact-checking and Natalie Baker, Lily Roberts, Andrea Ducas, and Emily Gee for their feedback and contributions to this column.