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How do egg prices during Trump's term compare to prices under Joe Biden in 2021 2024?
Executive Summary
Egg prices rose markedly after President Biden took office in January 2021, driven largely by avian influenza outbreaks and supply shocks that produced record highs in 2024–2025; wholesale prices peaked under Biden and fell sharply after January 2025, while retail prices lagged and remained elevated into early 2025 [1] [2] [3]. A clear, direct numeric comparison between average egg prices during Trump’s full 2017–2021 term and Biden’s 2021–2024 period is not consistently presented across sources, but the consensus in the reporting is that wholesale egg prices were higher at the end of Biden’s term and then dropped during Trump’s subsequent term, even as consumer retail prices stayed comparatively high [4] [5] [6].
1. Why Americans Felt Egg Prices Bite — The Bird‑Flu Shock That Reshaped Markets
Reporting across fact‑check and industry outlets identifies the avian influenza outbreak as the primary supply shock that raised egg prices during Biden’s administration, sending retail and wholesale measures to highs in 2024 and into early 2025. Newsweek and Poultry Site pieces document sharp monthly swings and record wholesale spikes tied to flock losses, while other analyses highlight how inflation and supply‑chain constraints amplified retail impacts [2] [5] [1]. These sources emphasize that the price surge was not purely demand‑driven; instead, supply destruction from bird flu changed the baseline cost structure, and therefore comparisons that omit this context risk misattributing causation to unrelated policy shifts [1] [2].
2. Numbers Reported — Peaks, Falls, and the Lag Between Wholesales and Retail
Published figures show wholesale egg prices climbing sharply through 2024 and into January 2025, with some reports citing wholesale near $5–$6 per dozen at peaks, then collapsing by roughly 30–40% in weeks after January 2025 as outbreaks eased and production recovered [3] [6]. Retail data are more variable: one account lists retail peaks above $6–$8 per dozen in March 2024 and subsequent declines to about $4.90 by March 13, 2024, while other reporting shows retail still near $5.90 in February 2025 despite wholesale declines [2] [3] [4]. The core factual pattern across sources is a wholesale spike under Biden followed by a rapid wholesale decline in early 2025; retail prices reacted more slowly and remained elevated for months [6] [4].
3. Comparing “Prices Under Trump” Versus “Prices Under Biden” — What the Data Can and Cannot Say
Analyses differ on framing. One source claims egg prices “fell 25% during Trump’s term” and presents specific averages like $4.90 per dozen as of March 13, 2024, and $0.82 per dozen at Biden’s inauguration—figures that conflict with other reporting and appear inconsistent with industry data [4]. Other, more measured fact checks conclude that there is no single, directly comparable figure spanning Trump’s 2017–2021 term and Biden’s 2021–2024 period in the supplied sources, meaning simple claims that eggs were uniformly cheaper under one president lack robust backing here [7] [3]. The correct interpretation is that prices were lower before the bird‑flu shock and spiked during Biden’s term, with wholesale declines occurring after January 2025, not that a single administration was solely responsible for a permanent price gap [1] [3].
4. Where Political Messaging and Data Diverge — Spotting Agenda‑Driven Claims
Some pieces present partisan narratives—one frames the trend as “Making Eggs Affordable Again” and attributes differences to policy choices, while fact checks caution that supply shocks and timing explain much of the movement [4] [3]. The discrepancy signals an evident agenda risk: political messaging often selects snapshots (a favorable month or headline number) to claim credit, whereas neutral industry and fact‑check reporting emphasizes multi‑month wholesale and retail dynamics and external shocks like avian flu. Readers should treat single‑number comparisons—especially those lacking clear timeframes or wholesale vs. retail distinctions—as likely misleading without fuller context [4] [6].
5. Bottom Line for Comparisons and What’s Missing — Data Gaps to Watch
Across the supplied analyses, the reliable takeaway is that egg prices rose dramatically during Biden’s term because of health and supply shocks and that wholesale prices fell notably after January 2025, while retail prices did not immediately mirror wholesale declines [1] [3]. What remains missing are consistent, apples‑to‑apples average price series explicitly covering 2017–2024 for both retail and wholesale measures in the supplied data; without those series, claims that eggs were categorically cheaper under Trump versus Biden rest on incomplete or selectively cited numbers [7] [6]. For a definitive, side‑by‑side numeric comparison, consult official USDA retail and wholesale egg price series across 2017–2024 and note avian‑influenza outbreak dates to avoid conflating correlation with policy causation [5] [3].