Brazil and the world faced a rise in egg prices, especially between the end of last year and the beginning of 2025. Internationally, the term “eggflation” was used, due to the weight of the product in the respective inflation rates of each country.
In an interview with Business Rootyour road between the countryside and Faria Lima, a podcast from InfoMoney in partnership with , the founder of Mantiqueira, Leandro Pinto, stated that this happened due to the sum of some factors, especially in terms of supply x demand.
Supply x demand
Briefly, the concept of supply x demand explains that the greater the demand and the lower the supply, the higher the price of a good will be. The reverse is also valid.
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This happens because, the more people want the same item – and it is, for whatever reason, with limited availability -, the amount to be charged will tend to be higher, precisely due to this high interest. And, when there is an imbalance in one of these parts – whether in supply or demand – the price will be affected.
And it was precisely this point that suffered a setback in recent months. The demand for eggs in the world has been growing. And recently, cases of bird flu began to break out in different countries. The United States, for example, had to import the Brazilian commodity to precisely resolve these issues: lack of eggs due to poultry contamination and the consequent increase in prices.
Brazil also experienced bird flu, even though it was affected on a much smaller scale. “If I reduce production due to a health problem, there will be shortages. Several times, we, egg producers, put a R$20 or R$50 bill inside an egg box, so that we can deliver it to the consumer (at a loss or a smaller profit). There is no good that always lasts, nor bad that never ends.”
Market dynamics
Leandro highlights that the market has “long curves” of adaptation. Not necessarily one action can influence the entire chain in the short term.
“The chicken’s cycle is very long, about two years,” he explained. Furthermore, a laying hen, capable of helping to supply the farm, requires at least six months of preparation. Therefore, even when there is a shortage on the market, the process of replacing infected birds with healthy ones is not so simple.
“It’s not something you say like: ‘I’m going to regulate the market, turning a machine on or off’. We’re talking about living things”, he concluded.
