Soaring egg prices put pressure on consumers and businesses

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Chickens may not be able to fly very far, but the price of eggs is soaring. A lingering bird flu outbreak, combined with soaring feed, fuel and labor costs, has led to U.S. egg prices more than doubling over the past year, and hatched a lot of sticker shock on grocery aisles. The latest government data shows that the national average price for a dozen eggs hit $3.59 in November. That’s putting stress on consumer budgets and the bottom line of food producers and restaurants that rely heavily on eggs as an ingredient. More than 43 million of the 58 million birds slaughtered over the past year to help control bird flu were egg-laying chickens. But even with the price increases, eggs remain relatively affordable compared to other proteins like chicken and beef.