Egg prices in Israel to rise sharply, Agriculture Ministry says

Israel's Agriculture Ministry announced this week that the government-supervised price of eggs will rise by about 12%.

A box of a dozen medium-sized eggs will rise in price from NIS 11.50 to NIS 12.89 and a dozen extra-large eggs will rise 16% in price from NIS 13.10 to NIS 15.19.

Why has the price of eggs gone up?

The Agriculture Ministry said that the reason for the significant price hike was the global price rise in seeds and the increase in the prices of the feeds used to raise laying hens. The ministry added that failure to raise prices might lead to a decrease in local egg production and a shortage of eggs in the market, as well as a lack of viability in importing eggs.

The global price of eggs has increased significantly both due to an outbreak of bird flu worldwide and an increase in input prices due to the war in Ukraine.

Egg prices in Israel

Egg prices in Israel are set by a joint price committee of the Agriculture and Finance ministries, due to full centralized planning in the industry — starting with the allocation of quotas for laying eggs to chicken farmers, and ending with a minimum price for chicken farmers when they come to sell their produce to the farm.

The price of eggs in Israel is considered particularly expensive compared with the rest of the world, and according to the Numbeo website, Israel ranks sixth highest in egg prices worldwide, prior to the latest hike.