Egg prices have tumbled since Trump returned to office. Here’s why
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President Trump often boasts about bringing down egg prices. The cost of a dozen eggs has declined since he returned to office. NPR's Joe Hernandez reports on how much that has to do with Trump.
JOE HERNANDEZ, BYLINE: At a rally last month, Trump brought up a story he's told before. He said one day after he was inaugurated for the second time, he held a press conference, and the assembled media asked him what he'd do about egg prices.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It was on January 21. Eggs have gone up five times, sir. I said, I just got here. I've been here one day. We took care of the egg crisis. And we take care in everything. We always...
HERNANDEZ: The price of eggs has dropped by more than half over the course of Trump's second term. According to federal data, the average cost of a dozen eggs in January of last year when he took office was $4.95, while the price this August was just $2.27. But the reasons why egg prices have fallen so far in that time mostly have to do with avian flu, says Michael Walden, an emeritus professor of economics at North Carolina State University.
MICHAEL WALDEN: Avian flu is very, very hard to contain. It's something that can override a farm very quickly.
HERNANDEZ: That's what happened in late 2024 and early 2025. The avian flu outbreak in the U.S. was so bad that it resulted in the deaths and euthanizations of nearly 51 million egg-laying hens in just six months. The U.S. flock shrank and egg prices skyrocketed, hitting a historic high in March of last year.
EMILY METZ: The beauty of the American public is that they love eggs, and we're grateful for that 'cause eggs are the perfect protein.
HERNANDEZ: Emily Metz is President and CEO of the American Egg Board, an industry marketing group.
METZ: But when demand remains the same and supply goes down, you obviously have a situation then when prices go up.
HERNANDEZ: That spring, after the worst of the avian flu outbreak, the USDA rolled out a plan to combat the disease. It included up to $500 million to supplement work farms had already been doing to enhance their biosecurity protections, such as hygiene protocols and safeguards against wildlife. The Trump administration also vowed to try to cut red tape for farmers and increase egg imports to lower prices. Since then, farms have been able to rebuild their flocks, and prices have come down.
Mark Jordan, who runs the livestock and poultry consulting firm LEAP Market Analytics, says the most recent avian flu season was fairly mild due to biosecurity protections, plus random chance.
MARK JORDAN: I'd say 90 to 95% of the impact that we've seen in terms of prices coming down has just been some measure of, you know, biosecurity success and some measure of luck.
HERNANDEZ: But agriculture experts say other actions taken by the Trump administration have made business harder for farmers in recent years, including egg producers. Tariffs and the Iran war have driven up the costs of farming supplies such as feed, fertilizer and packaging. Energy prices have also increased, specifically the cost of diesel. Again, economics professor Michael Walden.
WALDEN: While the federal government has tried to loosen some regulations on farmers to reduce costs, the benefits there have been far outweighed by the negatives.
HERNANDEZ: When it comes to grocery prices, eggs are an outlier. In August, egg prices were down 23% year over year, but overall grocery prices, including eggs, were up 2.2%.
Joe Hernandez, NPR News.
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