Eggs will become more expensive again, and so will other products. Our chickens are too sick
Even though it’s not Easter, you still have to be prepared for an increase in egg prices – their production is 12% lower. than it should be. It takes a long time to rebuild laying hen flocks.
Hens lay eggs – provided they are healthy and alive. Due to infectious diseases, millions of laying hens had to be killed in Poland – much more than in previous years. There is currently a shortage of approximately 6 million chickens in Poland. And rebuilding herds takes time – a minimum of six months, but also nine.
The inhabitants of the Lublin Voivodeship (13.88 pieces) and the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (12.51 pieces) eat the most eggs per person per month, and the least – the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (9.38 pieces) and the Greater Poland Voivodeship (9.60 pieces).
Millions of laying hens will not survive the disease. Eggs will become more expensive again
Since the beginning of 2026, the Chief Veterinary Inspectorate has been constantly confirming new outbreaks of Newcastle disease (Newcastle Disease – ND) in Poland. It is a disease combated ex officio in all EU countries. Sick hens either stop laying eggs at all or have thin or deformed egg shells.
Since the beginning of the year, 52 outbreaks of Newcastle disease have been confirmed in commercial farms, and the number of sick birds exceeded 3.7 million. At the same time, 29 outbreaks were detected in households (3,322 pieces), so the problem concerns the entire sector. According to information provided by the press office of the Chief Veterinary Inspectorate (GIW), this year there were also 143 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), involving 9.7 million chickens.
For comparison, in the whole of 2025, there were 10.2 million birds affected by HPAI and 8.5 million affected by ND. In 2024, it was 3.2 million (HPAI) and 3 million (ND), respectively.
Eggs and poultry meat will become more expensive. Cakes will also be more expensive
The poultry industry estimates that by the end of the year there will be 5.5 to 6 million fewer laying hens in Poland due to disease. This situation is an introduction to further increases in the prices of eggs, and with them also other products: for example, cakes or poultry.
– One laying hen produces on average 300-330 eggs per year, so we are talking about a loss of 120-135 million eggs per month. Of course, some herds will be rebuilt, so the actual loss will be smaller, but the scale of losses is huge – explains Paweł Podstawka, president of the National Federation of Poultry Breeders and Egg Producers (KFHDiPJ) in Bussiness Insider.
According to experts, not only eggs, but also egg powders and egg masses may become more expensive, and the import of eggs and egg products to Poland will probably increase. The same will happen with the price of poultry. Egg imports to Poland will also increase.
The Central Statistical Office calculated that egg prices in February 2026 were higher than 7.5%. up to 22.2 percent compared to last year. The barrier of PLN 1 per item has already become the norm in retail trade. In April, consumers paid on average from PLN 1.05 to PLN 1.28 for one egg, compared to PLN 0.93 – 1.17 a year earlier. Currently, prices for 10 pieces in stores range from PLN 9 to PLN 15 on average.
The purchase price for a broiler has already reached PLN 6/kg. According to the website cenarolnicze.pl, a wholesale chicken carcass costs up to PLN 10.20.
