Abstract:
This paper investigates the effect of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreaks on table-egg prices in Mexico. The analysis relies on monthly panel data of the price index of table eggs at the city level linked to records of HPAI outbreaks occurred in producing municipalities. Our findings suggest that exposure to an average HPAI outbreak immediately increases the price of table eggs by 1.5% relative to the price that would be observed in a scenario without HPAI. Exposure to HPAI outbreaks also has lagged effects. The highest increase (4.8%) is observed two months after the outbreak. Afterwards, the effect decreases and vanishes by the seventh month. Our results also suggest that the impact of HPAI outbreaks on the price of table eggs has decreased over time mainly due to a lower frequency and intensity of HPAI outbreaks possibly associated with an increased efficiency of the protocols of prevention, surveillance, control and eradication of HPAI outbreaks.