Seen as an index of the overall economy, the price of eggs has now dropped to $2.27 per dozen from a record high of $6.23 in March of last year.
According to a new survey released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, egg prices have decreased by around 20.6% in the last 18 months even as overall food prices have increased by a historic 32.4% since the beginning of 2020.
The latest BLS figures also show that a variety of food items have seen topsy-turvy price switches, with ground beef jumping from $3.95 per pound in December of 2020 to $6.70 per pound as of last month.
Similarly, the price of ground coffee has accelerated from $4.52 in late 2020 to $9.33 in September.
Economists have said that the primary reason for the earlier rise in egg prices, particularly during the months of the Covid 19 lockdown, could be easily explained: a steady demand during a time of tightened supply.
But earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that three large national egg companies, Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman’s Egg Ranch, and Versova, conspired to “rig the benchmark price” of eggs.
In response to pressure from the Department of Justice, the three companies agreed to pay a fine of $3.3 million, while also donating upwards of 50 million eggs to local food banks.
Egg prices, meanwhile, when they are on the upside, have proven a potent political issue.
In the fall of 2024 during his campaign for a second term, Donald Trump blamed what was then $3.80 per dozen eggs on the Biden administration. Standing before a table holding a box of eggs, Trump declared “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down on day one.”
Massachusetts Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren, at the same time, blamed the inflated egg prices on what she characterized as “corporate greed.”
Warren charged that big egg production facilities and supermarket chains were the culprits behind the rise in eggs in 2024, remarking “That’s price gouging.”
October 27, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
