Avian flu causing egg prices to rise in North America

There’s no need to get scrambled up over egg prices at the grocery store just yet.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, said Canadians can expect to see a jump in egg prices, but nothing like what’s happening to our south.

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“Things are pretty much out of control in the U.S.,” Charlebois said.

“They’re reporting increases of up to 65 per cent last year, and looking at increases of 20 per cent this year. So it’s really high.”

But while those numbers may be alarming, Canadians don’t need to worry about such a large increase, Charlebois noted.

“Egg prices are going up in Canada, but it’s not going to be 20 per cent,” he said. “It’s probably going to be about five to seven per cent.”

According to Charlevois, the price jump is because of the avian flu, and people are also panic buying.

Avian flu (H5N1) is a contagious viral infection that mainly affects birds but can sometimes infect humans and other mammals.

To limit the spread of the infection between, 150 million chickens have been killed in the U.S., according to Charlebois.

He said Canada is facing similar issues with avian flu, but not at the same level.

“I think we’ve actually had to put down about 14.5 million birds so far, and in some parts of the country it’s been worse than others, like B.C., for example,” he said.

“We are expecting prices to be impacted in areas like B.C., but nowhere near what’s happening in the U.S.”

He said the biosecurity measures Canada has in place in place are solid, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is working hard to avoid the outbreak coming from the U.S.

“With supply management in Canada, you do have mechanisms in place to allow for farmers to talk to each other and share information and limit any hits coming from outbreaks,” Charlebois said.

He added that supply management helps keep retail prices more stable in Canada.

“In the U.S. there’s a free market and prices tend to fluctuate a lot more,” Charlebois said.

Eggs are a staple in many households, Charlebois said, as they offer a cheap source of animal protein.

“You get a lot of bang for your buck,” he said. “So when prices go up, it affects a lot of people. Eggs have increased, I think, about 25 per cent in the last four years, which is a lot. It’s above inflation, so we don’t expect that trend to change this year.”

The researcher said prices aren’t expected to drop as long as the avian flu outbreak continues.

“This is a nightmare for farmers,” he said. “It’s the worst thing. There’s not a whole lot you can control.”