Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Amid shortages and rising prices, nearly one lakh eggs were stolen from a distribution truck in the United States, the media reported on Wednesday.
The incident happened in Pennsylvania, where grocery stores are selling a dozen eggs for USD 4.69 or more, depending on the type and brand.
The Pennsylvanian State Police are investigating the egg theft.
Amid soaring egg prices and shortages, around one lakh eggs worth USD 40,000 (Rs 34,84,329) were stolen from a distribution supplier in South-Central Pennsylvania’s Franklin County on Saturday last week. The theft reportedly occurred at Pete & Gerry’s Organics in the Antrim borough of Greencastle at 8:40 pm, the reports said.
The eggs were stolen from the organic farm amid a recent bird flu outbreak in the US. According to the Consumer Price Index, the price of a dozen large eggs has surged by 36.8 per cent over the past year because of supply shortages.
The US Department of Agriculture predicts that while overall food costs are expected to rise by just 2.2 per cent this year, egg prices may increase by nearly 20 per cent. Reports indicate that the average price per dozen eggs soared to USD 4.10 (Rs 357) by end of December 2024– double of what it was in August 2023.
A shortage, caused by an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, drove up the egg prices.
Several cases of the virus have been reported across the US, including recent outbreaks at a duck farm in Long Island, New York, and in Merced County, California. Health experts in Massachusetts recently stated that even in areas without confirmed cases, bird flu was likely present.
“Egg prices are going up because of the avian flu. However, that’s driving people to buy more eggs than they usually do because they’re anticipating higher prices and reduced grocery store supply,” Emory University Associate Marketing Professor Saloni Vastan told USA Today.
Avian influenza is caused by the H5N1 virus. The USDA estimates that the ongoing outbreak, which began in 2022, has killed nearly 136 million birds.