Eggs prices drop, but the threat from avian flu isn't over yet

Eye-popping egg prices have finally started to fall. Wholesale eggs in the Midwest market dropped by 58 cents to $3.29 a dozen at the end of January, according to USDA data.

Justin Sullivan / Justin Sullivan

Maybe you’ve seen the funny internet memes about high egg prices? Like the one where a guy gets on his knees to propose, but instead of a ring, he brings out a dozen precious eggs!

Well, egg prices have finally begun to decline. “We’re seeing wholesale prices start to come down,” says David Ortega, a food economist at Michigan State University. The wholesale price of a dozen eggs in the midwest market dropped by 58 cents to $3.29 a dozen at the end of January, according to USDA data.

There is a lag between a drop in wholesale prices and what we pay at the grocery store, Ortega says, but we can expect some relief soon. I’ve already seen prices fall at my local supermarket.