Liquid and Shell Egg Market News

September 16, 2022

SHELL EGG HIGHLIGHTS

Wholesale prices for cartoned shell eggs advanced through the week on a combination of
light supplies and offerings. Interest was moderate to good while the pace of trading was
moderate to active. Wholesale prices for graded loose eggs posted similar gains on light
to moderate supplies and limited and confidently-held offerings. Interest is moderate to
good with pervasive concerns over the potential impact of the return of HPAI in
commercial table egg flocks. Trading is moderate to active. The volume of trailer load
loose egg sales this week increased 37% from the prior week

The California benchmark for Large shell eggs increased $0.13 to $3.26 per dozen with a firm undertone.
Delivered prices on the California-compliant wholesale loose egg market increased $0.58 per dozen to
$3.28 per dozen with a firm undertone.

Consumer demand for shell eggs weakened into the week ahead of Labor Day weekend as
thoughts turned to the last summer holiday, marking the unofficial end of summer.Demand
typically wanes into September and early October ahead of the big push for Thanksgiving
and 2022 appears to be following a similar trend to date. Retailers are reserving their promotional
efforts for the post-holiday period and doing little to incentivize egg consumption in the near-term.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)remains a concern as recent outbreaks in commercial
turkey flocks in the Upper Midwest have shell egg producers on alert.

CAGE FREE

Cage-free commitments as of August 2022 remain about unchanged, requiring 66.7 billion
cage-free eggs per year to meet 100% of needs from an approximate cage-free flock of
221 million hens (73% of the U.S. non-organic flock), indicating a shortage of 133.5 million
hens from the current non-organic cage-free flock of 87 million hens. The average lay rate
for non-organic, barn/aviary cage-free production is currently estimated at 82.5%.

LIQUID EGG HIGHLIGHTS

Wholesale prices for liquid yolk are higher with other products untested. Offerings are
light, demand is moderate to good, and trading is moderate to active. Prices on frozen
whole eggs were unchanged at $2.00 per pound and those for frozen whites were steady
at $1.45 per pound. The undertone is steady to firm. Offerings are light to moderate while
supplies are light to moderate. Demand is moderate to good and trading is moderate to
instances active.

Source: USDA Egg Market News