Egg prices put pressure on Trump administration

Americans feel the economic impact of egg prices directly - Photo: AFP

To address the crisis, the Trump administration recently decided to import millions of eggs from Türkiye and South Korea to ease the financial burden on American households. But egg prices are expected to remain high for the next few months.

US border officials have arrested more people carrying eggs than fentanyl this year.

Canada's CTV News, a country with an abundant supply of eggs, mocked the egg shortage in the United States.

The dilemma

The United States is facing a sharp increase in egg prices due to a severe outbreak of avian influenza (H5N1) that has devastated poultry. Egg prices in the United States have skyrocketed by more than 65% by 2024 and are expected to increase another 41% by 2025. Specifically, a carton of 12 eggs cost $1.20 in 2019, now up to $4.90, reaching a peak of $8.17 earlier this month.

The root cause is a devastating H5N1 outbreak that forced the US to cull more than 156 million birds, especially egg-laying hens, in 2022, leading to a shortage. The industry is also reeling from tax hikes and deportations of undocumented immigrants, who make up 40% of farm workers.

A tiny egg is putting a lot of pressure on the US government. There are a few reasons why egg prices matter to US politicians. First, almost everyone buys eggs. So shortages and price increases will attract attention and affect consumers of all income levels.

Second, it is a measure of broader economic problems, so egg-related problems are often seen as a signal of a broader picture of economic weakness. And third, egg prices are politically charged in the US, as Mr Trump has promised to lower egg prices.

Last month, in an interview with NBC News, Trump said he won the election on the border and groceries. He used eggs as leverage during his campaign last year, pledging to address rising egg prices, which he blamed on his predecessor, Joe Biden.

But rising egg prices may be a more difficult problem to solve than Mr Trump thinks. The US leader took credit for a slight drop in egg prices last week, but Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said they could rise again by Easter early next month.

Start importing

Despite the ongoing trade war with many countries, to solve the problem of egg supply, the Trump administration recently announced that it will buy millions of eggs. Of which, for the first time in history, the US will import eggs from South Korea. The Turkish Egg Producers Association also confirmed that it will export 15,000 tons of eggs to the US between February and July 2025.

"We're talking about hundreds of millions of eggs in a short period of time," Rollins said, according to AFP. These imported eggs will play an important role in helping the US stabilize the domestic market in the short term.

But some countries such as Poland, Finland and Denmark have rejected the US offer due to concerns about meeting domestic supply and maintaining strict EU regulatory standards. "Many countries are short of eggs. The question is how much will the US offer?" - said Mr. Katarzyna Gawronska, director of the National Chamber of Commerce for Poultry and Feed Production of Poland.

In the long term, the US also has a $1 billion plan to mitigate the impact of avian influenza and support egg producers, including: biosecurity solutions to protect poultry farms, vaccine research and development, and financial relief for farmers affected by disease outbreaks.

In addition, the government will also provide advice and strengthen monitoring on farms to prevent future outbreaks.

But it will take time to see the effects of these measures. Jeremy Horpedahl, an associate professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas, told The New York Times that although wholesale prices are falling, consumers will only feel the drop in egg prices starting next month because stores will continue to sell their eggs until they expire.

In her latest statement, Rollins said egg imports would stop when U.S. poultry farmers can restore increased supply. "Hopefully in a few months," Rollins said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Clodagh Harrington, lecturer in American politics at University College Cork, commented in the Conversation: "Egg prices are still on the rise. Even when prices suddenly drop, like this week, people still don't feel better because eggs used to be so much cheaper."

When do egg prices drop?

According to the US Department of Agriculture, egg prices in the country are expected to increase by about 20% by 2025. For comparison, the increase in food prices in general is about 2.2%. Last year, egg prices also increased by 36.8%.

It's unclear when egg prices will fall, but experts say it will be after 2025. One of the main factors that will determine egg prices will be supply, which depends largely on farmers and producers and how long it takes them to rebuild their flocks.

The USDA predicts that egg production will also decline this year due to bird flu and lower laying rates. But on the bright side, American farmers have more experience dealing with bird flu, meaning farms can recover more quickly.

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