US - Egg prices up 120% for a dozen since April 22, 2015

[sharon sanders]

Bird flu pushes egg price up sharply

BY SAMANTHA MASUNAGA - LOS ANGELES TIMES (TNS)

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The price of Midwest eggs more than doubled in the past week because of the growing avian influenza epidemic, which has caused millions of chickens, turkeys and other birds to die or be euthanized.

On Friday, the average wholesale price of a dozen large eggs from the hard-hit Midwest was $2.62, according to estimates from Urner Barry, a food commodity market research firm that compiles daily egg price reports.

The price has risen 120 percent from the average of $1.19 a dozen on April 22.

more...

http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2015/05/30/Bird-flu-pushes-egg-price-up-sharply.html

 

[Pathfinder]

U.S. Egg Prices Reach Record as Bird Flu Toll Nears 45 Million

by Lydia Mulvany
June 3, 2015 ? 9:56 AM CDT
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Prices for wholesale consumer-grade eggs, sold in grocery stores, more than doubled in the past month to reach an all-time high on Tuesday, according to commodity researcher Urner Barry, which has been tracking the industry since 1858.

More than 10 percent of the country?s laying hens have been wiped out by the spread of avian influenza across the Midwest. Iowa, the top U.S. egg producer, was hardest hit.
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Wholesale consumer-grade eggs increased 120 percent from a low on May 4 to a record $2.62 a dozen on Tuesday, Urner Barry data show. At the same, costs for breaker eggs have nearly quadrupled to an all-time high of $2.35.

Egg Inflation

U.S. consumers will probably pay $7.5 billion to $8 billion more to buy eggs, an increase of at least 75 percent from last year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts including Jason English wrote in a report on May 20. Post Holdings Inc. has warned that bird flu will hurt fiscal 2015 earnings at its food-service unit while countries in the Middle East and Asia have restricted American poultry shipments.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...each-record-as-bird-flu-toll-nears-45-million

 

[Pathfinder]

Egg rationing in America has officially begun

By Roberto A. Ferdman June 5
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"The purchase of eggs is limited to 3 cartons of eggs per customer."
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"The United States is facing a temporary disruption in the supply of eggs due to the Avian Flu," a statement released on Thursday said. "H-E-B is committed to ensuring Texas families and households have access to eggs....
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The wholesale price of eggs sold in liquid form (a.k.a. egg beaters, the kind used by large food manufacturers) has skyrocketed ? from $0.63 per dozen to more than $1.50 ? since the virus began to spread. While that stands to affect the price of breads, pastas, cakes and other commercial confections made with eggs, it also bodes poorly for food service providers...

In-shell egg prices have risen too. The average price per dozen has just about doubled since the end of May, according to the USDA.....
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...st-grocer-in-the-texas-is-now-rationing-eggs/

 

[Pathfinder]

Avian Flu Jacks Up Egg Prices ? But Is Our Health Also in Danger?

Korin Miller
June 8, 2015

...while the outbreak is impacting our wallets, should we be nervous about contracting avian flu from the eggs we actually can buy?

Probably not, says Michael Doyle, PhD, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. ?Generally, it has to mutate to a degree in order to be able to infect humans,? he tells Yahoo Health, and ?that hasn?t happened yet.?

Of course, he says, that doesn?t mean that it can?t. He says the people who would be most likely to contract avian flu would be those that live and work around chickens, or eat undercooked or raw meat, although the disease hasn?t yet shown up in the chickens that we eat....
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Steven Gordon, MD, chair of the infectious disease department at the Cleveland Clinic, says it?s important to fully cook your eggs ? whether there is an avian flu outbreak or not. ?Raw eggs are always a risk because of the potential pathogens,? he tells Yahoo Health. ?Don?t eat your eggs raw.?

Doyle adds that you can practically wipe out your odds of contracting avian flu from eggs if you also wash your hands properly after handling raw eggs and avoid foods that contain raw eggs, like Caesar salad dressing.

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https://www.yahoo.com/health/avian-flu-jacks-up-egg-prices-but-is-our-health-121027021522.html

 

[Pathfinder]

$6 eggs could be coming: Analyst

Katie Little
1 Hour Ago
CNBC.com

Egg sticker shock at the grocery store could soon get even worse, one analyst warns.

Squeezed by limited supply because of the worst avian flu outbreak in three decades, egg prices have already risen sharply this year. But BB&T Capital Markets analyst Brett Hundley said retail prices could surge even higher.

An uptick to more than $6 for a dozen "would not surprise" him if bird flu returns later this year, something he predicts will occur as early as fall.
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"It's almost scary to think about what could happen to egg prices," Hundley said.
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http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/04/6-for-a-dozen-eggs-could-be-coming-analyst.html