New Colorado law could spike egg costs amid shortage

Next up in 5

Example video title will go here for this video

DENVER — The executive director of Colorado Egg Producers says customers at the grocery store will likely see some sort of increase in the price of eggs, relating to a new law that begins Sunday, that will move Colorado towards 100% ‘cage free’ eggs.

On January 1, egg producers will be required to give one square foot of space to all egg-laying hens in order to sell eggs in the state. By 2025, all egg-laying hens in Colorado will be required to be cage free.

"With different confinements – of course there's a cost to that," said Bill Scebbi, executive director of Colorado Egg Producers. "And raising hens in these other facilities, other environments it's more costly to raise the hens and produce the eggs. So that will equate to an increase in price. What that's going to be we can't say."

Scebbi said the change in law comes as the state's egg producers deal with a difficult outbreak of avian flu, which led to the death of up to 90% of the state's egg-laying hens.

"Our farmers are now rebuilding their flocks," Scebbi said, adding that it could be May before the supply of eggs in the state returns to normal.

Scebbi said Colorado's new law certainly is in line with consumer desire. 245 commercial organizations, retail organizations and restaurants joined in a letter during the process saying they wanted more cage-free egg options.

SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Next with Kyle Clark

Watch more from 9NEWS on the free 9NEWS+ app for Roku and Fire TV.

9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.

To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.

To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.

RELATED: Watch 9NEWS for free on ROKU, Apple TV, Fire TV