The Trump administration has announced plans to import eggs from Turkey and South Korea, with negotiations ongoing with other countries, in an effort to alleviate soaring prices for American consumers, officials have confirmed.
Large-Scale imports to address supply shortages
“We are talking in the hundreds of millions of eggs for the short term,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters at the White House. The initiative comes as part of a broader effort to combat a severe bird flu outbreak that has devastated the US poultry industry, leading to the culling of tens of millions of chickens.
Despite former President Trump’s pledge to lower food prices, the cost of eggs has surged by more than 65% over the past year and is projected to increase by a further 41% in 2025. Rollins stated that her department is also in discussions with other nations to secure additional supplies, although she did not specify which regions are being considered.
“When our chicken populations are repopulated and we’ve got a full egg-laying industry operating again, hopefully in a couple of months, we will then shift back to our internal production and distribute those eggs across the shelves,” she explained.
European suppliers also approached
Reports indicate that the United States has reached out to European poultry associations to explore potential egg imports. According to AFP, the Polish and Lithuanian poultry sectors have been contacted by US embassies regarding possible exports.
“Back in February, the American embassy in Warsaw asked our organisation whether Poland would be interested in exporting eggs to the US market,” said Katarzyna Gawronska, director of the National Chamber of Poultry and Feed Producers.
Bird flu crisis drives price surge
The ongoing bird flu epidemic, which has forced American farmers to cull vast numbers of chickens, has been a major factor behind the record-high egg prices. Farmers have described the outbreak as a “crisis”, with one US grocer even reporting the theft of 100,000 eggs as prices soared.
In response, the US Department of Agriculture unveiled a $1bn (£792m) five-point plan in February to tackle rising costs. This budget includes $500m for biosecurity measures, approximately $100m for vaccine research and development, and $400m for financial relief programmes aimed at farmers.
Government support for egg farmers
The Trump administration has also pledged support for commercial egg farms by offering best practices consulting services at no cost and covering up to 75% of the expenses required to mitigate bird flu risks.
“Our plan was to invest a significant amount of money to conduct audits nationwide, allowing the USDA to assist egg-laying companies in securing their barns,” Rollins said. “Since we began this initiative, we’ve observed a significant decline in bird flu cases.”
Though avian flu, or H5N1, has long affected American poultry farms, the current outbreak, which began in 2022, has been particularly devastating, resulting in the deaths of over 156 million birds and exacerbating the egg price crisis.
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political ramifications
Egg prices have become a political talking point for Trump, who used the issue to rally support during his presidential campaign by highlighting voter frustrations with rising costs.
In his recent address to the US Congress, Trump directly blamed the egg price crisis on his predecessor, Joe Biden.
“Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control – and we are working hard to get it back down,” he stated.
While the Biden administration had ordered the culling of millions of egg-laying birds last year to contain the spread of bird flu, prices have continued to rise even in the early months of Trump’s second term. With egg imports now on the way, consumers and industry experts will be watching closely to see if the plan delivers the promised relief.
