NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A well-known retailer said yesterday that a bird flu outbreak in the United States has resulted in egg prices rising 60 percent in the past week, telling Eyewitness News that egg prices could remain high for as many as six weeks.
Super Value’s owner Rupert Robert’s said a carton of eggs which was on special last week for $2.75 is being sold in store this week for $4.40 cents, a 60 percent increase.
“We are only allowed to make 10 percent on eggs and the government makes 30 percent through import duty. Consumers buying eggs this week are really paying import duty. Eggs this week are at $4.84 with the 10 percent VAT,” said Roberts.
He added: “I understand that there were some 20 million birds in the US that were lost due to bird flu. This kind of thing usually lasts six weeks, so I expect that after six weeks prices will go back down. We source our eggs from the southern United States. We bring in just under 1,000 cases a week.”
The deadly and avian flu has forced US farmers to kill millions of egg-laying hens which has reduced the country’s egg supply and caused prices to soar. Due to the fact that the flu is so contagious and deadly to birds, the USDA protocol is to kill infected flocks to limit the spread of the disease.
The current outbreak is being described as the worst US outbreak of the bird flu since 2015. Although it is deadly for poultry, the US Centre for Disease Control has noted that the current H5N1 bird flu poses a low risk to the health of the general public.
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