American food markets are running short on eggs, and the situation may not improve for months.The highly contagious avian influenza has wreaked havoc on the egg market. In November and December alone, 17.2 million egg-laying hens died as a result of the virus. That맥스카지노�s nearly half of all birds killed by the virus in 2024, according to the USDA. And it will take months to replace those flocks.맥스카지노�We can맥스카지노�t begin fixing it the next day. It is really a six-to-nine-month process. It맥스카지노�s causing some shortages in certain markets that are intermittent and localized,맥스카지노� said Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board.Fewer egg-laying hens means fewer eggs, more empty store shelves and higher prices.The average price of a dozen eggs of any kind at the end of December was $4.33, up nearly 25% from the beginning of November, according to Nielsen IQ data provided by the American Egg Board. And that맥스카지노�s on top of what has already been a startling rise throughout the year: Egg prices were up 37.5% year-over-year in November, according to the Consumer Price Index.At one King Cullen store in Island Park, New York, a sign on the Long Island supermarket맥스카지노�s empty egg shelf read 맥스카지노�as a part of Avian Influenza, select egg varieties may be temporarily out of stock.맥스카지노�Publix, which has nearly 1,500 grocery stores, mainly in the south, confirmed the chain is experiencing egg shortages as well.맥스카지노�Items in this section have limited availability. We are working to bring these products back as soon as possible,맥스카지노� the company said in a statement.Egg prices were expected to rise around the holidays because of seasonal demand and a bad year of avian flu. But as the holidays came and went, supply didn맥스카지노�t stabilize; it dwindled instead, leaving shelves less stocked and prices higher.In the last two months, avian flu spread to dairy farms, infecting egg farms nearby. Extreme weather across the country delayed and changed the flight path of wild birds, the main carriers of the virus.맥스카지노�Hurricanes in the southeastern United States last year actually picked up those wild birds and repositioned them so that they were flying back over the same territory that they already flew over. And again, that just provides a greater opportunity for virus to spread,맥스카지노� said Metz.Morton Williams, a tri-state area grocery chain in the surrounding areas of New York City, has seen egg prices rise across all categories since December.맥스카지노�Our cost just skyrocketed. It was crazy,맥스카지노� said Steve Schwartz, director of sales and marketing at Morton Williams.Schwartz said the grocery chain buys from six egg distributors, which allows for multiple channels to get its eggs. But prices remain troubling.In mid-October, a dozen conventional eggs cost Morton Williams $2.38. This week they paid their distributors $5.48, and that맥스카지노�s with a 70-cent discount, said Schwartz.맥스카지노�We맥스카지노�re going to struggle through this for a while because when I spoke to the farm a week ago, I asked the question: 맥스카지노�When do you expect to see relief?맥스카지노�맥스카지노� Schwartz said.Their reply was concerning.맥스카지노�They didn맥스카지노�t have an answer for me.맥스카지노�