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Egg producers are caught in a deepening margin squeeze as a surge in supply drives down farmgate prices faster than input costs can fall, according to CNBC.
A year-over-year decline of 44.7% in retail egg prices was recorded in March 2026, with some cartons now available for less than a dollar. But the relief for consumers is arriving at the worst possible moment for the farmers supplying them. The average price paid to Midwestern producers for large white shell eggs stood at just 25 cents per dozen for the week of May 8, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service — roughly a third of the estimated 79-cent-per-dozen cost of production in April, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
"We now have an oversupply situation, which is why you're seeing in some cases a dozen eggs below a dollar," Thomas Flocco, CEO of egg producer Pete & Gerry's, told CNBC.
Behind the glut is an extended push to rebuild flocks in the wake of the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks that began in 2022 and sent egg prices to record highs. Fears of another shortage kept producers expanding capacity even after conditions stabilized, and that accumulated supply has since overtaken demand. American Egg Board President and CEO Emily Metz told CNBC the current price weakness reflects "supply growing faster than demand can absorb, driven by flock recovery following avian influenza, small farm growth and improved productivity."
