USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins discussed the lower costs of wholesale eggs following the nationwide outbreak of bird flu during a cabinet meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump on Thursday. (Credit: Pool)
Egg lovers are scrambling because prices may have fallen below their all-time high before Easter, but federal officials say relief is already in progress.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of eggs in March was $6.23, an increase of nearly 6% since February, more than 60% higher than a year ago. But behind the scenes, a sharp drop in wholesale costs sets the stage for rebounds at checkout counters.
“The wholesale price of eggs is…down between 50-65%, depending on who you're looking,” Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins said at a press conference outside the White House on Thursday. “We've said it takes time to catch up along with retail prices…but we feel we're coming back with great confidence.”
The dramatic drop in wholesale prices is what the USDA calls “five strategies” to address both avian flu and market volatility, from over $8 per dozen in February to around $3.26 in early April.
Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins is looking to President Donald Trump to sign an executive order at his White House oval office on Wednesday. (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Secretary Rollins is working to lower consumer egg prices and continues to use all the tools at their disposal to do so,” a USDA spokesperson confirmed in a Fox Business exclusive statement. “After implementing five abundant plans to lower egg prices about a month ago, the wholesale price of eggs fell by more than 56%. It takes weeks for the wholesale price to feel a reduction in wholesale price in the retail market. So we have to stay hardworking. The plan is working.”
The USDA's five extension plans include strengthening biosecurity on farms to prevent further avian flu outbreaks, increasing compensation payments to help farmers re-farm their flocks faster, and reducing the deficit in adjustments to expand egg supply and speed-up delivery.
It also invested $100 million in bird flu research and vaccine development, and temporarily expanding imports, including Turkey and South Korea, to ease pressure on domestic supply.
A third of Americans have stopped buying eggs. It won't go back until the price drops
National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, DHS Executive Director Christy Noem and Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins signed the executive order Wednesday at the White House's Oval Office. (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images/Getty Images)
This year's sharp rise in egg prices was largely driven by a severe outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which swept poultry farms in early 2025. To contain the spread, millions of egg-selling chickens were culled across several major production conditions, causing a significant decline in national supply. According to USDA data, the 2025 outbreak was one of the most devastating since the re-emerging virus in 2022 re-emerging in US herds, and commercial class operations were particularly hard hit.
Rollins spoke with Trump at Cabinet meeting Thursday, celebrating the broader economic agenda to support America during the transition.
“This president has the vision to readjust the US economy and ensure that we make America number one,” she said. “We believe that these changes will create unlimited and unprecedented prosperity for farmers in a short period of time. But if not, the USDA will be there in the short term to ensure that our farmers are caring, just like our term.”
Center Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent will speak at a Cabinet meeting held at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. (Getty Images/Getty Images via Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg)
Easter soon saw Rollins call it the “Super Bowl of Eggs.” The USDA and the White House are betting that the recent wholesale plunge will soon appear on grocery store shelves.
When this Easter egg prices increase, many Americans are becoming creative. Some families skip real eggs completely and instead stain objects like marshmallows and potatoes.
Others have turned to reusable options such as plastic eggs and wooden eggs at craft stores. These are decorated like real eggs and can save you in the future.
“The eggs are getting bigger, right?” Trump asked at cabinet meeting Thursday.
