Eggs regain appeal

Americans are on track to eat about 23 dozen eggs each in 2026, as egg supplies recover and prices retreat from last year’s spike. (ers.usda.gov) The U.S. Department of Agriculture pegs 2026 table egg availability at 22.9 dozen per person, up from 21.5 dozen in 2025; that works out to roughly 273.7 eggs, a jump of nearly 6%. The agency uses “availability,” sometimes called disappearance, as a proxy for what Americans eat at home and in restaurants. (ers.usda.gov) The same USDA outlook, updated April 16, said table egg production expectations were raised because layer inventories grew, and its 2026 egg price forecast was lowered on recent price trends and higher production expectations. (ers.usda.gov) Retail prices have already come down. The average U.S. city price for a dozen Grade A large eggs was $2.348 in March 2026, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published through the St. Louis Fed, while the broader food-at-home index fell 0.2% that month. (fred.stlouisfed.org) (bls.gov) Wholesale markets show the same shift, with USDA reporting national truckload prices for loose white Large shell eggs at $0.23 a dozen for the week of April 17. In California, the benchmark for Large shell eggs was higher at $0.97 a dozen that week. (ams.usda.gov) California’s premium is tied in part to Proposition 12, the state law that bars the sale of eggs from hens housed below its confinement standards, including eggs produced outside the state. Those rules changed the supply that can legally be sold in California, where compliant eggs often cost more. (cdfa.ca.gov) Eggs are getting cheaper as some meat stays expensive. In its April outlook, USDA said 2026 beef production would be lower than previously forecast and projected slaughter steer prices at $241.66 per hundredweight, up 8% from 2025. (ers.usda.gov) Chicken still dominates the American plate by volume, with USDA forecasting 102.8 pounds of broiler meat per person in 2026. Eggs, though, are regaining ground as a lower-cost animal protein after a year when bird flu and shortages made them a symbol of grocery inflation. (ers.usda.gov 1) (ers.usda.gov 2) If flock rebuilding holds and avian influenza stays in check, USDA’s forecast points to a year when eggs look less like a price shock and more like a staple again. (ers.usda.gov)