With bird flu having become a permanent feature in the United States poultry industry – sending egg prices soaring – a new phenomenon has emerged.
US Customs officials have reported the illicit trade in eggs as an unexpected consequence of widespread bird flu outbreaks in the US.
US-based Sherwood News has reported that thousands of Americans have got themselves into trouble for trying to smuggle eggs into the US without knowing that unofficial egg imports were prohibited.
The publication said the customs office in San Diego, California, had seen a 158% increase in egg seizures as egg prices in Mexico dropped to under $2 a dozen, compared to around $9 in California. Elsewhere in the US, the price of a carton of eggs has nearly doubled in the past year, reaching an average of $5.89 in February, compared to just shy of $3 one year earlier.
Across the US, for the first two months of 2025, US Customs and Border Protection forces intercepted a whopping 3 254 egg products, up 116% from this time last year, the report stated.
While wholesale egg prices have dropped more than 40% since late February, according to the American Enterprise Institute, (AEI), a public policy think tank, this reprieve may be short-lived.
The AEI’s Scott Gottlieb warns that the incoming spring season will bring back seasonal migration for wild birds, which may trigger more bird flu outbreaks.
“The avian influenza strains now in circulation have persisted continuously among birds and mammals for nearly two years, and there’s growing evidence that it could become part of a new normal to which the poultry industry must inevitably adjust for both the physical and economic health of Americans,” said Gottlieb.
