In China, the humble egg, a longtime supporting act in many dishes, is now center stage.

在中国，鸡蛋这种长期以来在许多菜肴中只扮演配角的普通食材，如今却登上了舞台中央。

Around dining room tables, budget-conscious families are griping about its sudden spike in price. In the countryside, befuddled farmers who complained of a glut of eggs last year now fret about scarcity. At food stalls, frustrated cooks are reeling from the one-two punch of egg prices and rising energy costs from the Iran war.

在餐桌旁，精打细算的家庭抱怨鸡蛋价格突然飙升。在农村，农民们去年还在抱怨鸡蛋供过于求、如今却因供应短缺而发愁，他们感到十分困惑。在小吃摊，沮丧的厨师们因鸡蛋价格上涨和伊朗战争导致的能源成本上升的双重打击而焦头烂额。

Even state media has taken to using the term “rocket eggs” to describe skyrocketing prices.

甚至连官方媒体也开始用“火箭蛋”一词来形容价格的飞涨。

Egg prices are up by more than 40 percent from a year ago, according to an index that tracks the top producing provinces. They recently hit a 10-year high by another benchmark that tracks prices at a wholesale market in Guantao, in northern China, catching industry insiders by surprise.

根据一项追踪主要产蛋省份的指数，鸡蛋价格比一年前上涨了40%以上。另一项追踪中国北方馆陶县一处批发市场价格的基准指数显示，蛋价最近创下了10年来的新高，这让业内人士大感意外。

In a country that consumes more eggs per capita than almost any other in the world, the surging price is especially painful. And it has become a paradox in an economy still struggling to shake off widespread deflation, in which industrial overcapacity and reluctant consumers have led to falling prices for several years. (The price of pork, for example, recently hit a 16-year low.)

在这个世界上人均鸡蛋消费量几乎是首屈一指的国家，价格的暴涨显得尤为令人痛苦。而在这个仍在努力摆脱普遍通货紧缩的经济体中，这也成为了一个悖论——由于工业产能过剩和消费者购买意愿低迷，中国物价已经连续数年下跌。（例如，猪肉价格最近就创下了16年来的新低。）

The war in Iran has pushed up energy prices and stoked nascent inflation, but this has been accompanied by a slowdown in economic growth, an unwelcome combination.

伊朗战争推高了能源价格并引发了初期的通货膨胀，但伴随而来的是经济增长的放缓，这样的组合令人不安。

中国的人均鸡蛋消费量几乎超过了世界上其他所有国家。

The price of eggs is the kind of issue that can hit a nerve, and not only in China. The United States had its own egg crisis not long ago, because of supply chain snarls and an avian influenza outbreak. Eggs became a talking point during the 2024 presidential election campaign, with Donald J. Trump using the rising cost of groceries to berate his opponents.

鸡蛋价格是那种能够触动公众敏感神经的问题，这不仅发生在中国。不久前，由于供应链受阻和禽流感爆发，美国也遭遇了自己的鸡蛋危机。在2024年总统竞选期间，鸡蛋成了热门话题，特朗普利用不断上涨的食品杂货成本来抨击对手。

In China, the problem began with overenthusiastic poultry farmers.

在中国，问题始于家禽养殖户的过分热情。

Two years ago, farmers started expanding after several bumper years, adding more egg-laying hens from 2024 to 2025 than ever before, according to Aspen Li, an analyst who studies the egg market. Suddenly, there were too many eggs and the price plunged. Farmers then found themselves short of money to feed all their chickens.

研究鸡蛋市场的分析师阿斯彭·李（音）表示，两年前，在连续几年的丰收之后，养殖户开始扩大规模，2024年至2025年间新增的蛋鸡数量创下历史新高。突然之间，鸡蛋供过于求，价格暴跌。随后，养殖户们发现自己没有足够的资金来喂养所有的鸡。

So they culled them, at a rate that experts considered excessive. Eventually, there were not enough egg-laying hens to meet demand, sending prices to levels that Mr. Li said were “even higher than my expectations.”

于是他们开始大量淘汰蛋鸡，专家认为这样的淘汰速度过快了。最终，蛋鸡数量不足以满足需求，导致价格上涨，李先生说其程度“甚至超出了我的预期”。

At the same time, demand has been particularly strong, which economists attribute to various factors like hungry teenagers studying for a high-stakes national exam and the summer celebration known as Dragon Boat Festival.

与此同时，市场需求却格外强劲，经济学家将其归于各种因素，比如备战重要全国性考试、食量极大的青少年，以及被称为端午节的夏季节日。

And some pin the blame for climbing costs on one person: President Trump. The war in Iran has made cooking gas pricier. Owners at one restaurant in the coastal town of Tianjin stuck a sign in their storefront window to explain that they were raising the price of jianbing, a crepe of eggs, greens and deep fried crackers, by the equivalent of seven cents because of “Trump driving up prices.”

还有一些人将成本攀升归咎给特朗普总统。伊朗战争导致烹饪用气价格上涨。在天津市的沿海小镇，一个餐馆老板在店面窗户上贴了一张告示，解释说他们将煎饼（一种用鸡蛋、蔬菜和油炸薄脆做成的卷饼）的价格提高了五毛钱，原因是“特朗普推高了物价”。

Axuan Bu, 25, who runs two stalls called “Jianbing Man” in the eastern city of Jinhua, says he can’t pass the cost of his savory egg pancakes on to his regular clients. “If you raise the price, people just won’t buy them anymore,” he said.

25岁的卜阿轩（音）在东部城市金华经营着两个名为“煎饼侠”的摊位，他说他无法将这种咸味鸡蛋煎饼的成本转嫁给老顾客。“一涨价别人就不买了，”他说。

Mr. Bu goes through 360 eggs every two to three days and he’s seen the price tick upward by a few cents each time he restocks. A carton, which once cost $25, is now $35. To make things worse, the gas canisters he needs to heat his pan have also risen, to $22 each from $16, a purchase he has to make every five days.

卜阿轩每两三天就要用掉360个鸡蛋，他发现每次进货时，价格都会上涨几毛钱。一箱鸡蛋曾经要价约170元，现在涨到了约240元。更糟的是，他用来加热平底锅的煤气价格也从每罐约110元涨到了约150元，而他每五天就得买一罐。

“You bustle around month after month and by the end of it, there’s simply nothing left,” he said.

“忙了一个月又是一个月，到最后什么都不剩，”他说。

Unlike meat, eggs aren’t easily substituted, said Hellen Zhang in the eastern province of Jiangsu, who together with her boyfriend consumes as many as seven eggs a day — boiled for breakfast, scrambled in dishes with tomatoes for lunch and as batter for rice cakes.

家住东部江苏省的海伦·张（音）说，和肉类不同，鸡蛋不容易被替代。她和男朋友每天最多要吃七个鸡蛋——早餐吃水煮蛋，午餐吃西红柿炒蛋，还用鸡蛋做炸米糕的面糊。

It accounts for a tenth of their monthly food bill, Ms. Zhang said. “But no matter how expensive eggs get, you still have to eat,” she said. “Prices go up, but you can’t skip your protein.”

海伦·张说，鸡蛋占他们每月食品开支的十分之一。“但不管鸡蛋多贵都得吃，”她说。“价格涨了，但是还得补充蛋白质。”

鸡蛋涨价这类问题往往会触动人们的神经。由于伊朗战争，液化石油气的价格也越来越贵。

Harriet Hua, from the southern province of Guangdong, noticed that the price of eggs started creeping up in April on the grocery-buying platform she uses, known as Pinduoduo. They have since risen by 20 percent.

来自南部广东省的哈丽特·华（音）注意到，从4月份开始，她在拼多多这一购物平台上购买的鸡蛋价格开始悄然上涨。从那以后，价格已经上涨了20%。

“My first reaction was, ‘Oh my god, why is it so expensive?’ So I stopped buying them, thinking I’d wait for the price to drop,” said Ms. Hua, who normally buys a batch of 30 eggs each month. While she was jobless for six months, even the smallest price increase was painful.

“我的第一反应是，‘天哪，怎么这么贵？’所以就不买了，想着等价格降下来再说，”哈丽特·华说，她通常每个月会一次性购买30个鸡蛋。在她失业的六个月里，即使是最小幅度的价格上涨也让人吃不消。

“The price never did drop,” said Ms. Hua, who landed a new job last month. “Eventually I just had to buy them anyway.”

“但价格根本就没降下来，”上个月刚找到新工作的哈丽特·华说。“最后我还是不得不买。”