The US has been struggling with rising egg prices for a while. Due to avian influenza, a shortage of eggs has emerged, prompting the Trump administration to take action. The Department of Agriculture has requested help from countries, including Turkey, to address the high prices.
In the US, cases of avian flu led to the culling of egg-laying hens, triggering an egg shortage in the country. The rising prices of eggs have been a point of concern for some time. The Trump administration considered importing eggs as a solution.
European countries are also on the table for imports
According to a Reuters report, the US has asked countries like Turkey, Denmark, and other European nations to export eggs to the US to help mitigate the rising egg prices.
This request from the US Department of Agriculture coincided with President Donald Trump’s new tariffs threat towards European countries and other nations. Trump had also threatened to impose economic sanctions on Denmark if it did not transfer the autonomous region of Greenland to the US.
US sent an official letter in February
According to a document reviewed by Reuters, an official from the US Department of Agriculture sent a letter at the end of February to egg-producing countries in Europe, inquiring if they could supply eggs to the US market.
At the beginning of March, a new letter was sent to Denmark’s egg producers’ union, requesting an estimate of how many eggs could be sent to the US.
Denmark’s response: “No production surplus”
Denmark’s agency stated that while it would review the request, there was no surplus in egg production in Europe. On the contrary, due to increasing consumption and the avian flu outbreak, there was a global egg supply shortage.
Turkey to send 15,000 tons of eggs
Ibrahim Afyon, the Chairman of the Turkish Egg Producers’ Association (YUM-BİR), announced that they had reached an agreement with the US for the export of approximately 15,000 tons of eggs due to the egg supply problems caused by the avian flu outbreak in the US. He mentioned that the shipments, which started in February, will continue until July.
