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How has avian flu impacted egg prices under Joe Biden since 2021?
Executive summary
Avian influenza outbreaks beginning in February 2022 removed tens to hundreds of millions of egg-laying birds and corresponded with large spikes in wholesale and retail egg prices: USDA/ERS reporting cites more than 43 million hens lost by December 2022 and prices 210–267% higher late that year [1]; later reporting counts well over 100–150 million birds affected and retail/wholesale prices reaching multiples of pre‑2022 levels [2] [3] [4]. Available sources document both the biological supply shock from HPAI and political debate about government responses, with competing claims over responsibility and whether producers or government policy amplified price moves [5] [2].
1. What happened to the hen flock and when — the supply shock explained
The U.S. commercial egg sector suffered severe losses after highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) appeared in February 2022; USDA Economic Research Service counted more than 43 million egg‑laying hens lost through December 2022, occurring in two waves (Feb–Jun and Sep–Dec), which tightened inventories at a seasonally sensitive time and drove wholesale prices sharply higher [1]. Later reporting expands that toll — multiple outlets cite figures “more than 100 million” and up to “150–175 million” birds culled or dead across subsequent waves, indicating a prolonged, rolling supply contraction in 2022–2024 [2] [4] [6].
2. How prices moved — headline numbers and timing
USDA/ERS data show wholesale shell‑egg prices were “elevated throughout” 2022 with the average shell‑egg price 267% higher the week before Christmas than at the start of that year, and 210% higher than the same time a year earlier [1]. Bureau of Labor Statistics and press summaries cited by PolitiFact and other outlets report retail prices rising from about $1.60 per dozen in February 2021 to roughly $4.10 per dozen by December 2024, and other trackers put some wholesale averages even higher in early 2025 [2] [7] [5]. Regional and retail variation was large: some weeks and places saw prices near or above $5–8 a dozen at the wholesale or retail level [5] [7].
3. Direct causation vs. contributing factors — contested interpretations
Reporting consistently links HPAI‑driven reductions in the laying flock to tighter egg supply and higher prices [1] [4]. Yet several outlets and experts note alternative or compounding factors: seasonal demand (holiday baking), retailer pricing behavior, and industry concentration that could amplify shortages and margins [1] [5]. The New York Times cited Democratic lawmakers suggesting producers and retailers might exploit scarcity to lift prices, while other coverage emphasizes the biological severity of the outbreak as the primary driver [5].
4. Policy response and political framing — why the debate is heated
Federal depopulation (“stamping out”) of infected flocks is long‑standing USDA policy and was used during prior outbreaks as well, which critics and fact‑checkers point out when administrations trade blame [2]. Political actors have blamed the Biden administration for “killing” flocks and causing price spikes, while fact‑checks and USDA context note the culling policy predates the administration and that the outbreaks originated in wild birds [2] [8]. By early 2025, incoming officials and policy proposals emphasized shifting toward vaccination, biosecurity and other strategies, a pivot that has itself become politicized [6] [7].
5. The short‑ and medium‑term outlook described in sources
USDA and analysts expected wholesale prices to fall after seasonal demand eased and flocks began rebuilding, but later waves and the virus becoming endemic in wild birds complicated recovery and left prices vulnerable to renewed spikes [1] [9]. By 2025, conditional vaccine approvals, import policy measures, and new administration strategies were being advanced as measures that could moderate future supply shocks — but outlets caution benefits likely occur over months to years rather than instantly [6] [10].
6. Bottom line for the original query: how avian flu affected egg prices under Biden
Available reporting shows avian influenza was a principal, documented supply shock beginning in 2022 that materially reduced the laying flock and coincided with major wholesale and retail price increases during the Biden years [1] [2] [4]. At the same time, sources record contested explanations and political claims — some attribute price spikes mainly to the biological outbreak and depopulation policy [1] [2], while others point to retailer behavior, market dynamics, and later policy choices as amplifying factors [5] [6]. Available sources do not mention a definitive, single‑cause accounting that isolates the precise share of price change due uniquely to administration policy versus the virus itself.