Another conspiracy theory about egg prices has formed, and this one involves popstar Taylor Swift, her fans and the 2023 Grammy Awards.
During the awards show, host Trevor Noah praised Swift for having the best fans in the world and asked, “Can you get your fans to handle the price of eggs?”
Swift responded, “There’s really nothing they can’t accomplish,” and added, “They’ll get on it, just let them know what you need.”
Some of twitter posts after the interaction said things like “On my way to lower the price of eggs because Taylor Swift said I could” and “Taylor Swift said to bring egg prices down so now I’m changing life plans and running a whole chicken farm.”
Just one day later, on February 6th, Urner Barry coincidentally reported a drop in wholesale egg prices. According to Urner Barry’s Egg Index, prices decreased to $1.97 per dozen, which is over 50% less than the egg prices noted in December 2022.
The coincidence gained traffic when news such as CNBC and KS95 reported on it. This is where the conspiracy theory comes in: Did Taylor Swift’s fans have something to do with the drop in egg prices?
The answer is no
Even before Noah asked Swift to have her fans intervene, the industry has predicted that egg prices would drop as 2023 went on.
Many producers were forced to depopulate their flocks due to the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak that’s been going on since the first U.S. layer flock was infected in February 2022.
In the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s February 10th Egg Market overview, it stated that multiple producers have used the current period to repopulate their flocks ahead of the typical Easter demand that’s coming up. As the replacement hens reach mature production levels, the egg supply is becoming more stable.
The USDA’s overview also explained that the high egg prices seen in the grocery store over the last few months has lowered consumer demand. According to the USDA, wholesale prices for shell eggs continue to drop as the year progresses, but it’s not fully reflected in retail prices yet.
I’m not 100% sure that Swift’s fans realize Urner Barry’s Egg Index reports wholesale prices, not retail. In the its December review of egg prices, it said retail prices usually react within four to eight weeks of changes in wholesale prices. So, maybe consumers will see price drops soon.
