ANALYSIS: US Shell Egg Prices Retreat as Post-Holiday Inventories Build

Shell egg prices have begun to ease in the post-Thanksgiving period, with Midwest large slipping 3cts to $2.58/dozen on Tuesday—the first downward move since late September. While the holiday performed in line with expectations and, in some cases, exceeded them, early December often brings a natural cooling in demand. Many consumers enter the month well-stocked after the long holiday weekend, leaving retailers to pull lighter volumes as they assess sell-through before committing to fresh rounds of replenishment.

These softer retail pulls, combined with...

ANALYSIS: US Egg Prices Tumble as Retail Demand Falters

ANALYSIS: US Table-Egg Layer Flock Shrinks to Lowest Level in Nearly a Decade Amid Ongoing Bird Flu 

The latest Chickens and Eggs Report from the USDA revealed that the US table-egg laying population stood at just 291.5 million head as of February 1, marking a 4.1% decline from the previous month and the smallest flock reported since November 2015. However, ongoing outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have led to the loss of an additional 11 million layers this month, effectively reducing the national flock to approximately 280 million 

European Shell Egg Market Concerned by New Avian Influenza Outbreaks in Italy and France

Italy reported an outbreak of the severe H5N1 avian influenza virus late last week. It was the first outbreak in Italy for several months, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).   

The outbreak occurred on a large commercial layer farm in the northeast believed to house up to 1 million birds, a market source told Expana.  

The same market source said that now that H5N1 avian influenza is back in Italy, coupled with the spread of other livestock and poultry...