U.S. officials are crossing the ocean in search of enough eggs to ease the shortage, which has driven prices up sharply, forcing grocery stores to limit customer purchases and restaurants to add surcharges.
Poultry trade groups in Poland, the world’s second-largest egg exporter, and smaller countries such as France and Indonesia say their countries are receiving inquiries from US embassies and the US Department of Agriculture about egg exports.
This shows how much effort the US is willing to make to increase supply after the worst-ever bird flu outbreak killed millions of hens, sent retail prices up by 100% compared with a year ago and added to broader inflationary pressures. The US will need to import between 70 million and 100 million eggs in the next one or two months to fill the gap. President Donald Trump made lowering grocery costs a key theme of his campaign and called the market “a disaster”.
But it turns out that this is no easy task. Eggs have a short shelf life and their shells are fragile, making the transportation of eggs itself quite difficult. This means that countries do not always have surplus eggs. The trade requirements for animal products are often stricter than those for crops such as grains or sugar. Some countries are also dealing with avian influenza outbreaks.
Thomas Bartlett, secretary general of the French egg industry organization SNIPO, said in an interview: “Our response to the US Department of Agriculture is that there is no supply from France and the supply from Europe is also very limited.”
Government data shows that wholesale prices in the European Union have recently reached their highest level in two years. Bartlett said that the bird flu outbreak in the European Union has led to shortages of supplies in France.
Even if there are foreign supplies, it is not clear whether they can help replenish supermarket shelves. Some countries have indicated that they need to break up, dry or freeze their inventories before they can be sold overseas.
According to the organization’s president, Katarzyna Gawrońska, the US embassy made contact with the Polish National Chamber of Poultry and Feed Producers last week.
She stated in the email: “We informed the US side that although the possibility is limited, we can transport shelled eggs.” But “a large quantity of processed egg products can be exported.”
The different standards for cleaning or processing eggs is another trade barrier, and a license is also required. For instance, according to Gawrońska, Poland has the necessary health certificates for eggs destined for processing in the United States, but not for retail in stores.
According to Maria del Mar Fernandez Poza, the head of the Spanish supplier group Inovo, the group is currently working to determine how much it can ship to the United States. The group is also in talks with the United States Department of Agriculture regarding health certification.
Given the significance of eggs in global diets, some countries are taking measures to prevent an excessive amount of eggs from flowing out of their borders.
Turkey plans to sell 15,000 tons of eggs to the United States before July. Recently, the country has raised export taxes to control domestic egg prices. The country is also dealing with an avian influenza outbreak, and eggs are very important during Ramadan, as families usually gather for a big meal after a day of fasting.
Nan-Dirk Mulder, senior global expert on animal protein at Rabobank, said that although high egg prices in the United States present an opportunity for China, as one of the world’s largest egg markets, China has few ready supplies. Rabobank said that only 3% of global egg supplies enter global trade.
“This is a very local industry,” said Mould. “If you want to rebalance the market, you need a lot of production. In the short term, this is almost impossible.”
