Bird flu, Ukraine war push egg prices higher worldwide – The Peninsula

Bird flu, Ukraine war push egg prices higher worldwide – The Peninsula

Chicago/Paris: Severe outbreaks of bird flu in the United States and France are tightening global egg supplies and raising prices for the food staple as the war in Ukraine disrupts shipments to Europe and the Middle East.

Higher prices are particularly painful for consumers who rely on eggs as a low-cost source of protein and substitute for more expensive meat. Demand jumps around the Festive and Passover holidays in the United States and Europe as families use eggs to bake.

Bird flu has wiped out more than 19 million egg-laying chickens on commercial U.S. farms this year in the worst outbreak since 2015, eliminating about 6% of the country's flock, according to Reuters calculations of federal and state government data. France, meanwhile, is suffering its worst outbreak ever in which about 8% of egg-laying hens have been culled.

When poultry are infected, entire flocks are culled to contain the disease, which is often spread by wild birds.

The deadly virus and war are the latest challenges for egg suppliers also grappling with labor shortages and high costs for energy and grain used for animal feed.

Higher egg prices eat into profits for bakeries and food companies grappling with increased costs for flour and other goods.