Cal-Maine Foods: 2025 Egg Price Surge
Gain insights from Tim Dawson, Former CFO at Cal-Maine Foods, on the factors contributing to the unprecedented egg price surge in 2025, including supply chain disruptions, avian influenza, and consumer behavior shifts.
Key Insights
- Bird flu outbreak led to culling of millions of laying hens, causing supply shortages
- Egg prices soared 53% YoY, with average cost reaching $4.95 per dozen in Jan 2025
- Policy and public reactions creating both market volatility and debate
- Potential for further consolidation in egg production and supply chain optimization
Detailed Analysis
Dawson underscores that rising feed costs, intensifying bird flu outbreaks, and steady consumer demand have created a perfect storm. Cal-Maine proactively culled over 1.6 million hens in early 2024 to contain the spread, further tightening the supply.
Despite short-term disruptions, the company is optimistic about mid-term recovery, focusing on expanding capacity in unaffected regions and improving biosafety measures to mitigate future outbreaks.
The interview also addresses potential expansions into cage-free production to meet consumer preferences, with Dawson anticipating that “the shift to cage-free could gradually stabilize pricing, but only after producers recover flock size.”