Supermarket egg hunt: How is bird flu outbreak limiting egg supplies, raising prices at Bend grocery stores?

(Update: Adding video, comments from residents, prices at local stores)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Egg prices are skyrocketing to all-time highs, due in large part to an outbreak of avian flu. This has been afflicting egg-laying hens in the US since 2022.

Avian flu has decimated flocks of hens and constrained the supply of eggs at a time when demand for eggs has been increasing, causing prices to soar, according to Brian Earnest, lead economist for animal protein at CoBank.

The average cost of a dozen eggs in January was $4.95, almost double the price from a year prior and surpassing a record high, according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Local Acres Marketplace in Bend said the price of eggs is changing from delivery to delivery.

"What we're paying today is going to be different than what we paid last Thursday or last Tuesday. The egg market is the most volatile market," Store Director Aaron Price said Thursday.

Local Acres is limited in options on what they can get delivered to the store.

"Right now, we're ordering eggs, and we're only getting about 10% on each delivery of what we actually ordered," Price said.

Meanwhile, Bend's Target had eggs in stock Thursday morning, with prices ranging from $5 to $6 for a 12-count.

Central Oregon egg shoppers have been searching around town for the best prices.

Ceta Kelley said, "I went to Fred Meyer and was kind of shocked on the prices. Trader Joe's has a good price on a dozen, again, depending on medium-size to large."

At Trader Joe's in Bend, egg prices ranged from $3 to $7, depending on the type.

Another Central Oregon resident said she gets her eggs from her neighbors.

"But because of the egg shortages, the neighbors don't have any," Deborah Fink said.

Some stores are limiting how many eggs each customer can take to keep up with the demand. At Trader Joe's in Bend, one dozen is allowed per customer.

We visited seven grocery stores in Bend. Eggs were in stock at each location from the morning to mid-afternoon hours, but prices varied from a little over $3 to $11 for a 12-count.

At Local Acres, Price said, "I've been in the grocery industry, for about 32 years, and I've never seen anything like this before. It's unprecedented."

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on Wednesday a plan to invest $1 billion in strategies to rein in soaring egg prices. Yet in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Rollins acknowledged that it “won’t erase the problem overnight.” Rather, she said, the egg market won’t stabilize for another three to six months.