Average salary and egg prices before Easter. It's going to be an expensive holiday [WYKRES]
For the average salary in Poland, you can currently buy about 600 chicken eggs less than a year earlier. The current value of the egg index calculated by Business Insider is close to the lowest levels recorded after 2010. Economists indicate why egg purchase prices are at an increased level.
The rest of the article is below the video
Earnings in Poland are getting higher every year. This applies both to the lowest earners, because the minimum wage is already PLN 4,806 gross, but also to the average, average person. The latest data from the Central Statistical Office indicate that in the enterprise sector the average salary is PLN 9,135 gross.
Comparing current salaries with those from a few years ago looks impressive. Wages increased by over 6% in one year, by 14.5% in two years, and by almost 30% in three years. Unfortunately, prices in stores have also increased quite rapidly in recent years. Although inflation has recently dropped to 2.1 percent, average price increases have amounted to approximately 7 percent in two years and approximately 10 percent in three years.
One of the basic food products whose prices are subject to significant fluctuations are chicken eggs. The key element of the upcoming holidays, without which it is difficult to imagine Easter, has increased in price by almost 150% since 2021. Five years ago, you could easily buy 10 eggs for PLN 5. Currently, it costs over PLN 10.
Egg index for Easter 2026
Due to the upcoming Easter, Business Insider compared average wages with the prices of chicken eggs over the last dozen or so years. From the calculations on the basis of which the so-called egg index, it turned out that tBefore Easter 2026, we can afford less than during the holidays, which fell in April last year.
Currently, the average take-home salary can buy 5,939 eggs. Just before Easter a year ago, you could buy 6,515 eggs for the prevailing wage at that time. This is a significant difference to the detriment of our wallets.
See also: This is how much Poles plan to spend on Easter. One group stands out
The current value of the egg index is close to the lowest levels we recorded after 2010. (our calculations date back to this period). The indicator was similarly poor in 2018 and 2023, and it was clearly worse only in 2012.
In recent years, the peak of the egg index occurred in September 2024. Back then, one net payment could buy 8,583 eggs, which is over 2,600 more than now. Previously, there were moments when the egg index exceeded 10,000, e.g. in August 2019 and for a longer period in 2016.
As you can see in the egg index chart, due to significant changes in wages and high variability in egg prices (we write more about this later), the index has significant fluctuations in value from month to month, but it also shows long-term trends.
In the years 2012-2016, an upward trend was visible, showing that at that time earnings grew faster than egg prices. In the following two years, there was a significant correction, and then by 2021 there was a better economic situation for consumers again. Further The spike in inflation in Poland caused the egg index to plunge to near its deepest lows. Easter 2023 was a time of belt tightening and after a short rebound, now the indicator is again at low levels.
Egg index. About earnings and egg prices
How is egg index made? Our calculations regarding the number of eggs that an average Pole can afford in a given month are based on the average price of eggs and income.
We collected information on the average gross salary from the Central Statistical Office database for each month since the beginning of 2010 and converted it into net amounts to reflect the actual money that Poles had on average. In the case of the latest data for February 2026, the gross amount was exactly PLN 9,135.69, and after deducting contributions and taxes, approximately PLN 6,557 remains.
Salaries are getting higher every year
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Central Statistical Office, own calculations
We took the beginning of 2010 as our starting point, because this is the date of data on average prices of chicken eggs collected by the portal dlahandlu.pl. The latest March statistics from nine store chains located in six different regions of Poland show that the prices of the cheapest eggs packed in 10 pieces range from PLN 9.99 to PLN 11.69. The average is PLN 11.4.
These are slightly lower prices than, for example, in January 2026, but overall these are levels close to historical maximums. Few people remember that a few years ago, a pack of 10 eggs could be bought in a store for less than PLN 3.50. For almost a decade, the maximum price was PLN 5, but in 2021 this limit has been clearly exceeded and we are now more than twice as high.
Current prices for 10 chicken eggs according to the dlahandlu.pl price basket
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Dlahandlu.pl
What's next for egg prices?
“Supply constraints related to animal diseases contribute to maintaining egg purchase prices at an elevated level” – point out Credit Agricole economists in their spring agribusiness quarterly.
They point out that there are particularly significant limitations in the segment of eggs from cage-free systems. This is due to the implementation of declarations by a growing number of entities from the food and commercial sectors to move away from the sale of cage eggs. It is worth noting, however, that in Poland the sector transformation process is quite slow compared to the EU.
“We believe that the coming months will bring a gradual recovery of supply on the EU egg market, which will favor a decline in purchase prices.” – Credit Agricole economists forecast.
Credit Agricole economists forecast egg purchase prices
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Crédit Agricole
They indicate that the purchase price of class M eggs in January 2026 was PLN 66.66 per 100 pieces (+16.4% y/y). “Taking into account the prospects for the situation on the EU and domestic egg markets We forecast that the purchase price of class M eggs at the end of 2026 will be approximately PLN 68 per 100 pieces and approximately PLN 63 per 100 pieces at the end of 2027. Risk factors for our forecasts of poultry and egg prices include the epizootic situation in the country, the pace of supply growth among the largest producers of poultry meat and eggs, as well as the geopolitical situation in the Middle East,” they emphasize.
Author: Damian Słomski, journalist of Business Insider Polska
