An outbreak of bird flu in Texas caused an increase in egg prices in the United States – Kommersant

IN THE USA marked rising egg prices after the nation’s largest fresh egg producer, Cal-Maine Foods,… suspended work at one of its flagship plants in Texas due to an outbreak of avian influenza. The company had to slaughter 1.6 million chickens and 337 thousand chickens after some of them were found to have a “highly pathogenic variant of avian influenza.” The share of Cal-Maine Foods products in the US market is about 20%.

According to American media reports, an outbreak of bird flu in Texas has spurred an increase in egg prices, which have recently begun to decline. In January 2023, amid general inflation, prices reached a peak of $4.8 for a dozen category A eggs. By the fall of last year, prices dropped to $2. Now prices have risen again – to $3 – the maximum since April last year.

Other, albeit smaller, outbreaks of bird flu are also causing market nervousness. In March, three cases were reported on small farms in Kansas, Texas and Minnesota. US agricultural authorities say the primary goal in this situation is to protect human health. “The risk to the public remains minimal at this time,” CNN quotes Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller as saying. “It is important for us to maintain a high level of vigilance at this time. Our state and federal regulators continue to closely monitor the situation and take timely action.”

Evgeny Khvostik