Can You Find Eggs Here or There? Can You Find Them Anywhere?

A grocery staple that for decades has been a relatively cheap and reliable item has now become an elusive and even lavishly priced commodity.

At a Whole Foods in Manhattan on Wednesday, shelves were empty for the cheapest eggs — $3.39 for a carton of 12 large brown Grade A eggs.

What remained were more expensive options like organic, cage-free eggs for more than $7. Even then, the customers were limited to two egg cartons, according to a sign on the refrigerator door, “due to a nationwide shortage of eggs.” Other grocery stores, like certain locations of Kroger across the United States and Lidl in Britain, have also limited egg purchases. Prices of eggs across some countries are rising sharply.

One factor behind the shortage and the sharp rise in egg prices is an outbreak of avian influenza, also known as the bird flu, a highly contagious virus that is often fatal to chickens. Since the outbreak was detected last February, more than 57 million birds in hundreds of commercial and backyard flocks have been affected by it, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Infected or exposed flocks are culled to prevent the virus from spreading, a measure that has resulted in the depopulation of more than 44 million laying hens in the U.S. since the outbreak, according to the Agriculture Department. The depopulations at commercial facilities have decreased the domestic egg supply by about 7.5 percent on average each month since the outbreak began, the department said.

Lyndsay Cole, a spokeswoman with the Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said that after facilities are sanitized and restocked with healthy laying hens, it takes about four to five months for them to “reach peak productivity” of about 24 eggs per month.

The virus has also been detected around the world, including in Canada and countries in Europe and South America, according to United Egg Producers, the trade group that represents most commercial egg farmers in the United States.

Emily Metz, president and chief executive of the American Egg Board, said in an interview on Wednesday that while bird flu has played a role, increasing costs of fuel, feed and packaging have also contributed to pricier and scarcer eggs.

“Is avian flu a factor? Yes,” Ms. Metz said. “Is it the only factor? No, and I would argue it’s not even the biggest factor in where these prices are right now.”

Combined, the avian flu and other rising costs have created scenes of empty shelves at grocery stores across the country, from Colorado to New York. In some instances, people have resorted to buying their own chickens, local media in Arizona and Massachusetts have reported.

While the shortages have not been dire, the jump in prices is noticeable for consumers and businesses. In January 2022, the average price for a dozen of large Grade A eggs in the U.S. was $1.39, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By November, the average price had increased to $3.59.

Ben Suh, the owner of Between the Bagel NY in Queens, said that he had tried to hold off on raising prices for as long as he could, but that he would soon increase the cost of menu items with eggs. For instance, the price of a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich will increase to $7 from $6, Mr. Suh said.

“Everyone’s been struggling since the pandemic began, so we’ve been trying to keep our prices down,” Mr. Suh said.

A year ago, Mr. Suh said he would typically pay $70 to $80 for 30 dozen eggs. Now, he is paying $150 to $160 for the same order, he said.

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