Summer heat is working on eggs on both sides of the Atlantic. In both regions, heat-stressed hens are eating less and laying smaller eggs, thinning the supply of the largest sizes. The price reaction could not be more different.
In Europe, supply recovered just as summer holidays thinned demand, leaving wholesalers with a short-term glut. Prices fell across the board over the past two weeks: industry-grade caged eggs dropped almost 10%, free-range industry eggs about 15%, and organic shell eggs about 13%. Beneath the calm, the supply side stays fragile. France estimates 1 to 1.5% of its laying flock died in the heat, more than avian influenza took in the whole 2025/26 season, and a fresh bird-flu case has been confirmed at a small German holding.
In the US, the same heat has firmed the market for a second straight week. USDA national wholesale prices for caged white large eggs rose 34% over the period, because the heat-driven shortage of the largest sizes met strong Fourth of July retail promotions, which lean on exactly those sizes. Record-high beef prices are also steering foodservice buyers toward eggs as a cheaper protein.
Feed is the next pressure point. The same heat sent Euronext corn to a multi-year high on French crop damage, and corn is the single largest ingredient in layer feed. Vesper’s full analysis maps which egg segments stay tight, which keep sliding, and what the feed rally means for production costs.
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