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climbed to $1.15 a dozen last month compared to 62.7 cents in January, 1983. Baker said it was the highest increase since 1964 when the department started indexing egg prices.
United Egg Producers spokesman Ken Klippen told reporters that retail prices, could climb to $2 a dozen during the next several months if avian influenza continues to reduce the number of laying hens. About six million laying chickens have been destroyed due to the flu, reducing the nation’s number of egg producing hens by about 2.5 percent.
A number of eggs have been destroyed to prevent further spread of avian flu, thus further diminishing the supply. Virginia Department of Agriculture officials say the avian flu has been the single most devastating factor leading to higher egg prices. In accordance with the law of supply and demand, they say, egg prices have risen simply because there are fewer eggs available while customer demand has remained steady.
Klippen added that this disease has struck during a time when poultry farmers are also on the decline. During the past three years, egg prices had fell to such a point that farmers had gone out of the business to the tune of approximately 3,800 egg farmers in America today
91.9%