Japan reported its first bird flu outbreak of the season at a poultry farm earlier this week, raising concerns that egg prices could rise further.

Egg prices are coming close to a record high, with a further spike possible if infections spread and egg supplies decrease as a result.

The first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza this season was confirmed Wednesday at a chicken farm in the town of Shiraoi in Hokkaido Prefecture. About 459,000 laying hens at the farm will be culled to prevent further infections.

Wholesale prices remain high after soaring due to a large bird flu outbreak last season, standing at ?325 per kilogram for midsize eggs in Tokyo as of Wednesday, close to the record high of ?350 marked in the spring of 2023, according to JA Zen-Noh Tamago.

A major bird flu outbreak hit the country from fall 2022 to spring 2023. The number of laying hens culled at the time reached a record high of about 16.54 million, causing egg supply shortages and a spike in prices in a phenomenon called ¡°egg shock.¡±

The situation last season was also severe. Bird flu infections increased rapidly early this year, and poultry farmers were also hit by surging feed prices. Consequently, wholesale prices of midsize eggs in Tokyo have remained above ?300 per kilogram since late January.

The Japan Poultry Association said late last month that if bird flu outbreaks are not taken into account, egg production could start recovering early next year as laying hens currently raised at poultry farms mature to replace those culled during the last flu season.

During the 2022-23 flu season, the first infection case was confirmed on Oct. 28, 2022. Wholesale prices then spiked about ?100 per kilogram in about five months.

This season, the first case was confirmed about a week earlier compared with three years ago.

If a major outbreak similar to the 2022-23 season occurs, egg prices could rise to new highs, prompting the government to step up efforts to prevent infections from spreading.