The price of eggs has increased so much over the past year that Americans are now taking to smuggling eggs across the US-Mexico border.
An ongoing outbreak of bird flu, combined with rising feed, fuel and labor costs, has caused egg prices in the US to more than double in the past year and caused a slew of sticker shocks in grocery store aisles.
The national average price for a dozen eggs reached $4.25 in December, up from $1.78 a year earlier, according to the latest government data.
Customs data through Jan. 17 shows egg confiscations at the field office in El Paso, Texas, down 91 percent, in Laredo, Texas, up 301 percent, in Tucson, Arizona, down 333 percent, and in San Diego, California. has increased by 368 percent over the same period last year.
As egg prices soar in the US, some Americans are trying to save money by buying eggs in Mexico and bringing them back across the border
Bringing eggs back to the US from Mexico is illegal and has led to an increase in quantities confiscated at the border. Mapped the border of El Paso, Texas, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Bringing eggs back to the US from Mexico is illegal and had led to an increase in the quantity confiscated at the southern border.
Most of the eggs seized are cartons of 30 eggs that travelers bought for their personal use in Mexican shops because of the much lower prices.
Residents of California, Texas, and Arizona who live near the border often buy groceries from Mexican stores, but some farm products, including raw eggs, are banned from entry into the United States due to the risk of contracting Newcastle disease and to spread bird flu.
For the most part, people are often unaware of these restrictions as eggs are confiscated from travelers who have reported their purchase to inspectors.
Those who did so were not fined, but there were a few instances where the eggs were undeclared and penalties were imposed on travelers.
The price of a dozen eggs has increased from $1.46 in January 2020 to $4.25 in December 2022
An ongoing outbreak of bird flu, combined with rising feed, fuel and labor costs, has caused egg prices in the US to more than double in the past year and caused a slew of sticker shocks in stores
The price of eggs in the US was significantly higher last year, with December prices 60 percent more expensive than in 2021, according to the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index.
Costs have risen far more than other foods such as chicken or turkey – because egg farmers have been hit harder by bird flu and the subsequent destruction of flocks of chickens.
More than 43 million of the 58 million birds slaughtered last year to fight the virus were egg-laying chickens, including some farms with more than a million birds each in big egg-producing states like Iowa.
However, consumers are somewhat relieved as the wholesale price of eggs has fallen slightly over the past month.
In some places it can even be difficult to find eggs on the shelves. But overall egg supplies are holding up because the overall flock has declined only about 5 percent from its normal size of about 320 million hens.
Farmers have been working to replace their herds as quickly as possible following an outbreak.
Purdue University agricultural economist Jayson Lusk said he believes the bird flu outbreak is the biggest driver of price hikes. Unlike previous years, the virus persisted throughout the summer and saw a resurgence in infection of egg and poultry farms last fall.
“Avian flu isn’t the only factor, but I think it’s the main reason for what we’re seeing right now,” Lusk said.
In San Mateo, California, egg racks are seen with a note apologizing to customers for the price increase following the reduction in productivity caused by poultry deaths caused by various diseases
But American Egg Board trade group president and CEO Emily Metz said she believes any cost hikes farmers have faced over the past year were a bigger factor in price increases than bird flu.
“If you look at fuel costs, feed costs go up by up to 60 percent, labor costs, packaging costs — all of that … those are much, much bigger factors than bird flu for sure,” Metz said.
Jada Thomson, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas, said there could be some easing in egg prices over the next few months as egg farmers have steadily replaced flocks lost to bird flu last year and demand is now set to ease somewhat , as people are getting done with their holiday baking.
But she said bird flu remains a wild card that could still send prices skyrocketing if egg farms have major outbreaks.
Farmers are doing everything they can to limit the spread, but the disease is easily transmitted by migrating wild birds and the virus can be picked up on clothing or vehicles.
“But there are some things that are out of our control,” Thompson said. “Sometimes you can’t control nature.”
Egg shelves are seen with a note apologizing to customers for the price hike after productivity was hurt by poultry deaths from various diseases last week in San Mateo, California