Commodities
Bird Flu Sent Egg Prices Surging. Chicken Prices May Be Next
- Cases in South America raise risks for outbreak in Brazil
- Brazil is the world’s biggest exporter of chicken meat
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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Egg prices have soared thanks to the worst-ever global bird flu outbreak that’s ravaged poultry and hen flocks in Europe and US. Now, the disease is showing early signs of spreading in South America, putting global chicken supplies into bigger danger.
Cases have been popping up in countries like Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia. Just this week in Argentina, the virus was detected in a wild bird. And more alarmingly, on Wednesday Uruguay reported its first case of avian influenza. That’s a problem because it shows that bird flu is rapidly getting closer to Brazil, the world’s biggest chicken exporter.