China consumes more eggs per capita than
almost every other country, so a recent spike in costs is touching a nerve.
·
Sharp
Price Surge: Egg
prices in China have risen over
40% year-on-year, reaching their highest level in a decade in
key wholesale markets.
·
Nationwide
Impact: The
price surge is affecting households, farmers, restaurants and food vendors
across China, making eggs a major inflation concern.
·
"Rocket
Eggs":
Chinese state media has dubbed the phenomenon "rocket eggs" to describe the
rapid escalation in prices.
·
Economic
Paradox: The
surge comes despite China's broader economy remaining in deflation, with weak
consumer demand and industrial overcapacity keeping many other prices low. Pork
prices, for example, have fallen to a 16-year
low.
·
Supply
Shortage Rooted in Overproduction:
o Poultry farmers expanded egg production
aggressively during 2024–25 following several profitable years.
o Excess supply caused egg prices to
collapse.
o Financial losses forced many farmers to
cull laying hens.
o The reduction proved excessive, creating a
shortage of egg-laying hens and driving prices sharply higher.
·
Strong
Seasonal Demand:
Demand has remained robust due to:
o Students preparing for China's highly
competitive national examinations.
o Increased food consumption during the Dragon Boat Festival.
·
Iran
War Adds Inflationary Pressure:
The conflict in Iran has increased global energy prices, raising:
o Cooking gas costs.
o Transportation expenses.
o Operating costs for restaurants and food
vendors.
·
Restaurants
Face Double Burden:
Vendors are being squeezed by simultaneously rising egg prices and higher fuel
costs, reducing already thin profit margins.
·
Small
Businesses Under Pressure:
o A street-food vendor reported egg costs
rising from US$25 to US$35
per carton.
o Cooking gas canisters increased from US$16 to US$22.
o Many vendors are reluctant to raise retail
prices for fear of losing customers.
·
Political
Undertones: Some
businesses have publicly attributed rising food prices to President Trump's policies,
linking higher energy costs from the Iran conflict to increased operating
expenses.
·
Consumers
Have Limited Alternatives:
Eggs remain an essential, affordable source of protein for many households,
making substitution difficult despite higher prices.
·
Household
Budgets Affected:
Consumers report postponing purchases in hopes prices would decline, but
eventually buying eggs anyway because they remain a dietary necessity.
·
Inflation
with Weak Growth:
Rising food and energy prices are creating inflationary pressures while China's
economic growth remains sluggish—a combination that complicates economic
policymaking.
·
Highlights
the vulnerability of agricultural markets to production cycles, where overproduction can
quickly turn into shortages.
·
Demonstrates
how geopolitical conflicts,
particularly the Iran war, are transmitting inflation through higher energy
costs.
·
Shows
that even amid broader economic deflation, essential food items can experience
significant price spikes due to supply disruptions.
·
Underscores
the financial pressure on both Chinese
consumers and small food businesses, with higher costs
difficult to absorb or pass on to customers.
In
China, the humble egg, a longtime supporting act in many dishes, is now center stage.
Around
dining room tables, budget-conscious families are griping about its sudden spike
in price. In the countryside, befuddled farmers who complained of a glut of eggs
last year now fret about scarcity. At food stalls, frustrated cooks are reeling
from the one-two punch of egg prices and rising energy costs from the Iran war.
Even
state media has taken to using the term “rocket eggs” to describe skyrocketing prices.
Egg
prices are up by more than 40 percent from a year ago, according to an index that
tracks the top producing provinces. They recently hit a 10-year high by another
benchmark that tracks prices at a wholesale market in Guantao,
in northern China, catching industry insiders by surprise.
In
a country that consumes more eggs per capita than almost any other in the world,
the surging price is especially painful. And it has become a paradox in an economy
still struggling to shake off widespread deflation, in which industrial overcapacity
and reluctant consumers have led to falling prices for several years. (The price
of pork, for example, recently hit a 16-year low.)
The
war in Iran has pushed up energy prices and stoked nascent inflation, but this has
been accompanied by a slowdown in economic growth, an unwelcome combination.
The
price of eggs is the kind of issue that can hit a nerve, and not only in China.
The United States had its own egg crisis not long ago, because of supply chain snarls
and an avian influenza outbreak. Eggs became a talking point during the 2024 presidential
election campaign, with Donald J. Trump using the rising cost of groceries to berate
his opponents.
In
China, the problem began with overenthusiastic poultry farmers.
Two
years ago, farmers started expanding after several bumper years, adding more egg-laying
hens from 2024 to 2025 than ever before, according to Aspen Li, an analyst who studies
the egg market. Suddenly, there were too many eggs and the price plunged. Farmers
then found themselves short of money to feed all their chickens.
So they culled them, at a rate that experts considered excessive.
Eventually, there were not enough egg-laying hens to meet demand, sending prices
to levels that Mr. Li said were “even higher than my expectations.”
At
the same time, demand has been particularly strong, which economists attribute to
various factors like hungry teenagers studying for a high-stakes national exam and
the summer celebration known as Dragon Boat Festival.
And
some pin the blame for climbing costs on one person: President Trump. The war in
Iran has made cooking gas pricier. Owners at one restaurant in the coastal town
of Tianjin stuck a sign in their storefront window to explain that they were raising
the price of jianbing, a crepe of eggs, greens and deep fried
crackers, by the equivalent of seven cents because of “Trump driving up prices.”
Axuan Bu, 25, who runs two stalls called “Jianbing
Man” in the eastern city of Jinhua, says he can’t pass the cost of his savory egg pancakes on to his regular clients. “If you raise
the price, people just won’t buy them anymore,” he said.
Mr.
Bu goes through 360 eggs every two to three days and he’s seen the price tick upward
by a few cents each time he restocks. A carton, which once cost $25, is now $35.
To make things worse, the gas canisters he needs to heat his pan have also risen,
to $22 each from $16, a purchase he has to make every five days.
“You
bustle around month after month and by the end of it, there’s simply nothing left,”
he said.
Unlike
meat, eggs aren’t easily substituted, said Hellen Zhang in the eastern province
of Jiangsu, who together with her boyfriend consumes as many as seven eggs a day
— boiled for breakfast, scrambled in dishes with tomatoes for lunch and as batter
for rice cakes.
It
accounts for a tenth of their monthly food bill, Ms. Zhang said. “But no matter
how expensive eggs get, you still have to eat,” she said. “Prices go up, but you
can’t skip your protein.”
Harriet
Hua, from the southern province of Guangdong, noticed that the price of eggs started
creeping up in April on the grocery-buying platform she uses, known as Pinduoduo.
They have since risen by 20 percent.
“My
first reaction was, ‘Oh my god, why is it so expensive?’ So
I stopped buying them, thinking I’d wait for the price to drop,” said Ms. Hua, who
normally buys a batch of 30 eggs each month. While she was jobless for six months,
even the smallest price increase was painful.
“The
price never did drop,” said Ms. Hua, who landed a new job last month. “Eventually
I just had to buy them anyway.”