White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the high cost of eggs while speaking to reporters on Tuesday, saying the Biden administration contributed to the supply shortage by directing the killing of over 100 million chickens.
Leavitt held her first White House press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, when one of the reporters asked about the price of eggs skyrocketing since President Donald Trump took office.
She told reporters there is a lot of reporting that is putting the onus on the current administration for the rising cost of eggs.
“I would like to point out to each and every one of you, that in 2024, when Joe Biden was in the Oval Office or upstairs in the residence sleeping, I’m not so sure, egg prices increased 65% in this country,” Leavitt said, noting that the costs of bacon, groceries and gasoline have increased because of the “inflationary” policies of the Biden administration.
Leavitt held her first White House press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, when one of the reporters asked about the price of eggs skyrocketing since President Donald Trump took office.
She told reporters there is a lot of reporting that is putting the onus on the current administration for the rising cost of eggs.
“I would like to point out to each and every one of you, that in 2024, when Joe Biden was in the Oval Office or upstairs in the residence sleeping, I’m not so sure, egg prices increased 65% in this country,” Leavitt said, noting that the costs of bacon, groceries and gasoline have increased because of the “inflationary” policies of the Biden administration.
The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was either directly or indirectly responsible for killing more than 20 million egg-laying hens in the last quarter of 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.
Some estimations indicate the average price of a dozen large eggs could be nearly $5 by the end of 2025, which would be the highest average price for a dozen eggs ever recorded.
Still, the price of eggs in California has already surpassed that, reaching nearly $9 per dozen in some areas.
According to new data from Earnest Analytics, the egg industry shortage has driven egg prices to increase by 28% year-over-year (YoY), in just the first 13 days of January.
“According to Earnest Scanner Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) product data, this marks the highest YoY price increase since mid-2023,” the report notes. “The average price per Universal Product Code (UPC) purchased has reached a record high of $6.30 across the top 15 egg brands.”
But the data also shows a decline in the total quantity of eggs purchased.
The company said consumers are purchasing fewer eggs because they are forced to, as some stores limit the number of eggs customers can purchase during a shortage.
