Bird flu's impact on egg and milk markets varies Egg prices soar while dairy prices remain stable as H5N1 spreads through California15 April 2025 15 April 2025 3 minute read 3 minute read By: By: University of California North AmericaConsumers have faced reduced egg supplies and high egg prices. California milk production is also decreasing as the virus sweeps through California dairies, but has not driven up consumer prices because of major differences in the relevant markets. “Most California milk is used for storable, processed products like cheese, milk powders and butter that enter a large global market.”Avian influenza has been around for decades. Production decreases coincided with the rising egg prices that jumped in 2022 and again dramatically at the end of 2024, with national wholesale egg prices clearing $5 per dozen and California egg prices rising above $7 per dozen. Individual cows are typically asymptomatic after around a month, and milk production, which may fall temporarily by 20% or 30%, takes a few more months to recover.