Egg crisis: US faces high prices, shortages and smuggling amid tariff battle

In the US, some grocery stores are limiting purchases while some restaurants are applying surcharges for meals that include eggs. Photo: Bert Jansen

Mass culling of laying hens in the US due to highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has caused very high egg prices in the US. In January 2025, there were reports that US egg prices were up 53% to over 100% over what US consumers paid for eggs in 2024. Prices are unlikely to decrease this year due to ongoing shortages.

In response, some US grocery stores are limiting purchases while some restaurants are applying surcharges for meals that include eggs. American egg farmers have been accused of price gouging.

There is little to be done as poultry farms recover their flock numbers, and at the same time, further HPAI outbreaks are possible. Nevada’s governor has tried to solve the problem of high egg prices in his state by lifting hen housing restrictions.

But some individuals are taking the situation into their own hands, in an illegal manner…

Theft and smuggling

In February, 100,000 organic eggs were stolen in Pennsylvania and over 500 eggs were stolen from an Oregon café. Meanwhile, some US citizens who live next to the Canadian border have tried to bring cheaper Canadian eggs across illegally.

Canada’s National Post newspaper reports, for example, that between October 2024 and February 2025 at the Detroit-Windsor crossing between Ontario and Michigan “the field office has witnessed a 36% increase in interceptions of eggs compared to the same time last year. The agency avoids using the term ‘smuggling’ because most of the confiscated eggs are declared and surrendered freely without consequence.”

This is also happening at the US-Mexico border. The National Post reports that “the San Diego Field Office noted a 158% increase in interceptions since the 2024 fiscal year, and officers at the El Paso office have come across ‘more than 90 people attempting to import raw eggs from Mexico’ since January. Nationally, the agency said interceptions are up 29% at all ports of entry.”

Tariff war

The tariff battle between the US and Canada may also affect the price of eggs and poultry meat in both countries.

In response to President’s Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, on 4 March, Canada published the United States Surtax Order, which imposes countermeasures, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report.

The federal government has announced a list of US goods that could become subject to a 25% tariff on 25 March 2025. Looking at the US poultry, egg and dairy products, the list mostly covers ‘over access commitments’, which refers to imported US goods that are already subject to high tariffs.

To help Canadian businesses and farm businesses affected by US tariffs, the federal government has put together a CAD6.5 billion aid package, with another CAD$1 billion being made available in loans specifically for the agricultural sector.