“Punishes the most vulnerable households”

The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has denounced this Wednesday a “new and sudden increase in the price of eggs”, the second so far this yearthat has raised the cost of the cheapest categories by 1 euro compared to just six months ago, which represents a increase of 50% that “punishes the most vulnerable households.”

This increase, which is added to a inflationary trend started in 2021, It represents a cumulative increase of 137% in the cheapest eggs (category M) and 119% in those of size L.

The data comes from the OCU Supermarket Price Observatory and its annual price studies, which show how The average price of a dozen M eggs has gone from €2.14 in February to €3.14 in October. In the case of L eggs, the jump has been from €2.33 to €3.25. This evolution especially affects lower-income households, which depend on this staple food as an affordable source of protein.

OCU has identified two key moments in this escalation: February and October 2025. “In both cases, the increases at origin were immediately and completely passed on to the consumerwithout the subsequent decreases being reflected on the shelves. This phenomenon, known as ‘rocket and feather effect’shows a lack of downward adjustment on the part of intermediaries,” says the organization

Furthermore, the rise has been uneven depending on the type of egg. While “the cheapest eggs (cage or floor) have experienced the greatest increases, free-range and organic eggs have increased less in absolute and relative terms”, which implies that “Consumers with lower purchasing power are the most affected by this situation”.

As the main causes behind this price increase, the consumer group highlights the “increase in prices at origin, especially in cage and floor eggs, which have reached historical highs”, “bird flu outbreaks in Spanish farmswhich have forced the sacrifice of almost a million birds and generated uncertainty in the sector”, the “resistance of intermediaries to reduce margins, even when prices at origin go down” and “changes in supermarket offerings, that have replaced cage eggs with slightly more expensive options such as floor eggs.