You Thought $9 For A Dozen Eggs Was Bad? Bird Flu Might Make It Even Worse
Local chickens are in good health — but they face a potential threat.
The price of Hawaii鈥檚 already high-priced eggs could be going up as the U.S. mainland鈥檚 poultry industry continues to be pummeled by bird flu.
Hawaii consumers get most of their eggs from mainland producers and just last month 2.8 million birds were killed in Utah, Washington and Oregon,
In Hawaii, where a dozen mainland eggs typically fetches upwards of $9, the price increases could deepen an already painful price point, economists say.
But as the mainland supply drops, local egg producers are facing increased demand for their product, which could make local eggs cheaper than mainland varieties. That’s happened before when there have been previous mainland outbreaks of avian influenza.
This time, though, a case of bird flu has been detected locally — the first time the disease has ever been documented in Hawaii. The case in a wild duck on Oahu’s North Shore was reported Monday.
That has local producers on high alert and they’re taking extra precautions to keep their birds safe from any outbreak.
Until this week, Hawaii was largely immune from the virus, in part because of strict regulations on the import of live poultry, which are quarantined on arrival.
Chicken eggs have already become one of local agriculture’s biggest earners, worth about $30 million in 2022, in part thanks to Villa Rose Egg Farm, which started producing eggs in 2021 and has consistently competed with mainland imports.
Now Hawaii’s largest egg producer, the farm is already feeling the increased demand, signing up new customers and filling holes left by mainland producers with sick birds.
The Oahu farm, which sells under the brand Waialua Fresh Eggs, produces about 300,000 eggs daily but will increase production to about 400,000 per day by early 2025, filling out the final two of 10 chicken barns.
The move is intended to meet increased demand from Costco, which is losing a portion of its mainland supply, while also satisfying statewide contracts with Target, Walmart and Sam’s Club, farm manager Avery Barry says.
“We’re just trying to keep up,” Barry said.
But Hawaii consumers who buy local eggs may still feel the sting of price spikes if local producers decide to increase their prices too, Hawaii Department of Agriculture economist Matthew Loke says.
“If you keep the price at the same level, you will definitely gain market share,” Loke said. “But if this goes away, then what? There will probably be a price war because the mainland guys will want to regain their market share.”
Loke also predicts additional costs for local producers for biosecurity protocols, which many of Hawaii’s poultry operations will have to invest in.
But Barry is confident his Villa Rose flocks are insulated from the flu, given the safeguards his operations already use.
Those include disinfecting all inbound vehicles and a “shower-in, shower-out” policy that requires employees to wash and change clothing before and after working with the farm’s flocks, Barry said.
Hawaii Animal Industry Division Administrator Isaac Maeda says larger, contained poultry operations such as Villa Rose should be more immune to the bird flu, given those practices and the reduced chance of interacting with wild birds
Open-air operations, where farmers keep flocks in open pasture, have a greater risk of intermingling with migratory and wild species of birds, which the authorities suspect may have spread the virus throughout Oahu.
Maeda said Hawaii’s out-of-control feral chicken populations are also at risk from wild birds spreading the disease and could see a “huge die-off” if infected.
The state first detected the presence of avian influenza on Nov. 15 through routine tests of Oahu’s wastewater system.
A Wahiawa bird sanctuary’s flock was found to be infected and the state agriculture department destroyed 70 birds from the sanctuary.
Maeda said wild birds intermingling with the sanctuary flock is high on the list of suspected sources for the virus. Some migratory birds have been identified as potential carriers of bird flu in Hawaii, such as golden plovers, or kolea, which are asymptomatic carriers.
Bird flu is akin to the flu in humans, following the seasons and thriving in colder temperatures, which authorities hope will work in Hawaii’s favor.
“The good thing about here is that because of the heat and sun light, it tends to be — hopefully be — less of a problem,” Maeda said.
State agencies are urging the public to remain cautious despite the low risk of transferring it to humans, .
The agriculture department is meanwhile working with poultry producers statewide to assess what is needed to help mitigate the potential spread of bird flu, including supplying personal protective equipment to farmers, Maeda said.
“Hawaii Grown” is funded in part by grants from the Stupski Foundation, Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.
