Egg smuggling has risen rapidly in the US – here’s why | US News

Egg prices in the US have recently reached record highs.

The average price of a dozen large white eggs soared to $8.64 (£6.17) at the beginning of March, more than quadruple the long-term average of $2 (£1.54).

Since the price rise, egg smuggling has increased, other countries have been asked to increase exports, and the US justice department has launched an investigation.

Here is everything you need to know about how America has been scrambling for eggs, and why.

Avian flu

One of the main reasons behind the price rise is the outbreak of avian flu, also known as bird flu, which the US has been grappling with since 2022.

This year alone, one person has died and farmers have been forced to slaughter more than 30 million egg-laying birds – partly down to a federal government policy that requires farmers to kill their entire flocks any time a bird gets sick.

More than 166 million birds have been killed since the outbreak began three years ago.

Avian flu is an infectious influenza that spreads among birds. There are lots of different strains, with H5N1 being the main one that has impacted the US.

The H7N9 strain was also detected on a chicken farm in Mississippi on 13 March, according to the Paris-based World Animal Health Organisation.

The World Health Organisation said 616 people infected with H7N9 worldwide, more than a third of the total of 1,568, have died since it was first detected in 2013.

The main symptoms of bird flu include a high temperature, aching muscles, headache and a cough.

As of 7 March, there had been no major outbreak of bird flu in the US for two weeks, the department of agriculture said.

Increased demand, increased price

As the threat of bird flu rose, so did demand for eggs, which in turn caused the prices to rise.

At the beginning of the year, eggs reached a then record $4.95 (£3.86) per dozen, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In March, prices went even higher, with Sky News’ US partner NBC reporting a peak of $8.64. The Reuters news agency said some cities were charging as much as $10 (£7.71) for a dozen eggs.

To deal with the rising costs, some restaurants, including the Denny’s and Waffle House chains, added surcharges to eggs on their menus.

The overall cost of a food shop accelerated, according to NBC, after a previous dramatic decrease in prices from levels seen in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and post-lockdown period.

After surging for much of the year, egg prices finally began to decline in the US towards the end of last week – NBC reported a drop to $4.90 (£3) on 13 March.

President Donald Trump praised agricultural secretary Brooke Rollins for doing a “good job” at getting the price down, claiming during a speech at the department of justice that the price was down “35% in the last week and a half”.

The decrease has been put down to consumers buying fewer eggs, but prices still remain significantly higher than the average and pre-COVID prices.

Rise in egg smuggling

As the price of eggs increased in the US, prices remained relatively low in neighbouring Mexico, leading to an increase in efforts to smuggle them across the border.

So-called egg interceptions are up 36% nationwide, the Wall Street Journal cited US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as saying.

San Diego has had the largest spike, with an increase of 158% in comparison to last year.

“It’s the price difference. The price is like a third of what it is in the US,” Roger Maier, a CBP spokesman, told the Journal, adding agents in El Paso have encountered 90 would-be egg importers since January.

The CBP warned travellers to declare all agricultural products to officers when entering the country, with the failure to do so leading to fines of up to $10,000 (£7,700).

Back in February, the theft of 100,000 eggs from a truck in Pennsylvania left police baffled.

The eggs – worth around $40,000 (£30,000) – were snatched from the back of a Pete & Gerry’s Organics LLC distribution truck in Antrim Township, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

The force said at the time the theft could be connected to rising prices, describing the crime as “definitely unique”.

Biden to blame, says Trump

In a speech to Congress at the beginning of March, Mr Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for the surge in egg prices.

“Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control – the egg prices out of control. We’re working hard to get it back down,” Mr Trump claimed.

Elon Musk used his social media platform X to lay further blame on Mr Biden, writing: “There was an insane slaughter of 150 million egg-laying chickens ordered by the Biden administration.”

In actuality, millions of egg-laying chickens have already been killed since Mr Trump took office.

Ms Rollins later unveiled a $1bn (£771m) plan to combat bird flu, which includes investment to help farmers bolster biosecurity measures and research into developing vaccines for affected birds.

👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈

The department of justice is also reported to have launched an investigation into whether egg producers have conspired to raise prices.

The department’s probe is said to be in its early stages and is looking into whether producers have held back supply to increase costs, the Wall Street Journal first reported on 7 March – a claim producers have denied.

The department is yet to officially comment on the investigation.

A plea for imports

In a bid to help an increased demand, the US department of agriculture has asked Denmark and other European nations if they could export eggs.

In a letter to the Danish egg association in late February, officials asked: “Do you have an estimate of the number of eggs that could be supplied to the United States?”

A spokesman for the association in Denmark said they had requested more details on the conditions of such an agreement, highlighting that egg exports to the US were challenging due to regulations over hygiene and other factors.

The plea to European countries came after Turkey said in February it had started exporting around 15,000 tonnes of eggs to the US.

Exports from Brazil also increased 57.5% last month, the Brazilian Animal Protein Association said, with 2,527 tonnes of eggs shipped in February, compared with 1,604 in the same period last year.

Could Easter cause another rise?

Emily Metz, president and chief executive of the American Egg Board, has warned an increased demand for eggs over Easter could drive a temporary increase in prices once again.

If prices are high, it will be the third year in a row that US consumers have faced inflated prices ahead of Easter, which this year lands on 20 April, and Passover, which starts on the evening of 12 April.

Ms Rollins also warned last week that prices might “inch back up” as the Easter season is always the “highest price for eggs”.

Ms Metz added that egg farmers will also watch the spring migration of wild birds closely, explaining that they are a leading cause of the spread of avian flu and “pose a great and ongoing threat to egg-laying flocks”.