What did EGGS cost in 2017 compared to NOW?

Let’s look at what EGGS cost in 2017 compared to NOW. 

WHAT DID EGGS COST IN 2017 COMPARED TO NOW?

The price of eggs has seen a sharp increase from 2017 until NOW hitting its peak of R59.95 in January 2024. 

So, why did egg costs get so high? The pandemic and inflation played a factor, but they aren’t the real culprit.

ALSO READ: Avian flu: Is it safe to eat chicken and eggs?

WHY ARE EGGS SO EXPENSIVE?

Eggs became expensive because of a widespread outbreak of H5N1, a highly transmissible and fatal strain of avian influenza, or bird flu. This outbreak started in early 2022. 

Last year, shoppers were limited with the number of eggs they could buy due to an ongoing outbreak of avian flu in the country.

ALSO READ: SA shoppers hit with EGG LIMITS – Here is the latest

SA SHOPPERS HIT WITH EGG LIMITS

Stores were forced to ration eggs, and many retailers had empty egg shelves.

ALSO READ: Seven things YOU need to know about the SUPER-INFECTIOUS bird flu in SA

Here are seven things YOU need to know about the SUPER-INFECTIOUS bird flu: 

HERE ARE THE SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 

• Two farms in Mpumalanga experienced an outbreak. 
• The local flareups experienced this year had been spread by wild birds. 
• The latest outbreak began on a small farm in Delmas about two weeks ago before spreading to a larger commercial farm in that area.
• According to Reuters, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said that a total of 9 500 farm poultry died in the latest South African outbreak, with one farm seeing 2 000 birds wiped out and the other 7 500.
• The poultry that died would have either been deliberately culled or perished from the virus, adding that SA had a “stamp-out policy” that would see poultry culled within a 3km radius of the infections.
• About 1.5 million birds had died in all three outbreaks – either through culling or expiring from the flu.
• Various outbreaks in recent did not just affect SA but also hit North and South America, as well as Europe. 

ALSO READ: Avian flu detected in Western Cape, 120 000 birds culled