Walmart skimps on eggs in Easter meal kit as bird-flu outbreak sends prices soaring

Walmart will be skipping eggs in its Easter meal offer this year, the US retail giant said Wednesday, in the midst of shortages and sky-high prices spiked by the bird flu outbreak among poultry.Walmart’s Easter 2025 promotion features a meal kit with nine ingredients, including ham, russet potatoes, corn on the cob and a cream cake.It serves eight people for less than $6 per person – an average price which was lower than what it offered last year, it said.Notably absent from this year’s kit, however, are eggs, which were a key part of last year’s offering.

In 2024, the kit included ham, sweet potatoes, apple pie, and ingredients for deviled eggs.A promotional image showed a box with 18 large brown eggs and 14 other items.That kit served up to 10 people at an average cost of less than $8 per person, the retailer said.“The items in the (2025) basket are based on some of the most popular Easter meal items.

This year we did not include ingredients that are typically already found in one’s pantry like salt, pepper, butter, milk and eggs,” Tricia Moriarty, a Walmart spokesperson said in an email.A widespread outbreak of bird flu among egg-laying hens has led to record prices, created severe shortages of eggs on grocery shelves and forced retailers to set limits on purchases, prompting restaurants to increase menu prices as products become scarce.The US is considering importing Brazilian and broiler chicken eggs for processed foods to ease the crunch and free up more fresh eggs for shoppers.Walmart, the nation’s largest grocer, has not placed any broad purchase limits on eggs in stores, even as the cost of eggs is dynamic and supply has been tight in places, Moriarty said.Currently, the only restrictions are on purchases of 60-count cartons to six units per purchase and online only, she added.Walmart’s grocery revenue rose by mid-single digits in the quarter through Jan.31, the company said in February, which it noted was partly boosted by...