SChoeneiche, Germany – The American government is on a world egg hunt, looking for exports from European countries and elsewhere to facilitate a serious shortage which made the prices of eggs in groceries reach record heights.
Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden are among the nations that the American Department of Agriculture has approached to face the shortage caused by a bird flu epidemic, according to European industry groups.
But providing Americans with eggs would be complicated for foreign producers – and not due to political tensions on the myriad of import prices, President Donald Trump has imposed or threatened to impose on the main business partners of his country.
Even if they were impatient to share, European countries do not have many excess eggs due to their own avian flu epidemics and increasing domestic demand before Easter.
One of the biggest obstacles, however, is the approach that the United States adopts to prevent Salmonella contamination. US food security regulations require fresh eggs to be disinfected and refrigerated before reaching buyers; In the European Union, safety standards call grade eggs to be for sale unwanted and without prolonged cooling.
“These are two systems that could not be more different,” said Hans-Peter Goldnick, president of the German Egg Association.
Feathers on eggs at the supermarket
It is common in certain parts of Europe, for example, for consumers to buy eggs that still have feathers and chicken poop stuck to them.
Farmer David Karlsch described the simple process that puts eggs from chickens to the customers of the Saballus Poultry family farm in Schoeneiche, a city just outside the capital of Germany: the eggs are taken in nests, placed in boxes and sold on site or in a distribution of refrigeration just outside the property.
“The demand at Easter is of course very, very high, because many children naturally want to paint eggs,” said Karlsch.
Poland, a major egg exporter, has aligned an American question on the availability of eggs, according to Katarzyna Gawrońska, director of the national poultry chamber and animal food producers. The question of Washed vs Unshabed was a major factor because European officials have examined such requests, she said.
Eggs are not cleaned in most 27 EU member countries due to the concerns that elimination of the natural protective coating of shells makes them more vulnerable to bacteria, Gawrońska said.
Polish veterinary officials are trying to determine if the country and its farmers can meet American requirements, as the country exporting to a comparable food safety inspection system or a large bird flu epidemic.
Powder egg products
Although European Union regulations say that table eggs “will not be washed or cleaned”, member countries have a certain latitude if they have authorized egg baths in packaging plants decades ago.
The CEO of Danish Egg Association, Jørgen Nyberg Larsen, said that national customs were part of it; Washed eggs are the norm in Sweden, for example. But Sweden and Norway have informed the United States that it has no additional eggs to export, said Larsen.
For the moment, any increase in imports of American eggs from Europe is more likely to arrive in the form of powder or other products which can be shipped frozen or dried, said Larsen.
This is the answer that the Commercial Association of Poland gave us officials. If the United States certifies Poland as a source, members of the organization would have a limited number of eggs for sale but could provide “very large volumes of egg processing products,” said Gawrońska.
The processed eggs are generally pasteurized to prevent foods of food origin, then used in the manufacture of food or by restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, according to the American department of agriculture.
Bakery products, pasta and sauces like mayonnaise are some of the commercial powder-based commercial products.
Europe’s own production problems
US officials also tried to sound farmers in the north of the Venetian region in Italy for the supply of emergency eggs, according to Colderetti, the main Italian agricultural lobbying organization.
But Italy produces only enough eggs to cover national demand, so most producers in the region said they couldn’t help. The epidemics of the flu flu since the beginning of last year have also wreaked havoc on the Italian poultry industry.
Germany cannot contribute much either. Its domestic poultry industry generates about 73% of eggs consumed in the country, “and we must essentially import Holland eggs every day to settle for everyone,” Goldnick told the German egg association.
“We have about 45 million eggs that we can collect with chicken coops every day, and in America, there is a shortage of around 50 million eggs per day. This shows how difficult it is,” he said.
An improvement in the American market and the demand for Easter
The other countries that the US government has contacted include Austria, Norway, Spain and Denmark. The US Department of Agriculture said it had obtained new Egg commitments from Turkey and South Korea in recent months, although it has not specified the amount or the type.
Imports of liquid, frozen and dried eggs can help free certain domestic shell eggs for consumers, but the United States has called on foreign eggs in the midst of a significant deficit; Last month, the country produced 720 million less table eggs than in February 2024, a drop of almost 10%.
The United States has also reduced its own egg exports to increase supplies at home, said the Department of Agriculture.
While informal trade negotiations are continuing, the American market has shown signs of improvement. It has been almost a month since a large bird flu epidemic has had an impact on the hens laid by eggs, the ministry said. He reported that the National Big Big Egg price dropped $ 3.27 per dozen on March 21, less than half of his peak $ 8.15 per dozen on February 21.
American consumers are just beginning to see these prices in wholesale, result in prices lower than the shelves of the grocery store, said the ministry. The large demand for eggs which generally accompanies Easter and Passover could lead to the rise in prices next month.
Business is business
Trump has not worked exactly on egg shells with residents of Europe since entering the second term. The repeated threats of the president to seize Greenland, a Danish territory, returned to Denmark at the time. His posture towards Ukraine and his derogatory remarks of the main members of his administration have alarmed the American European allies.
The European Union, which is the third trade partner in the United States, has not been exempt from the prices that Trump has ordered on steel, aluminum and cars. To find out more, he has prepared counter-tale on American products.
But many officials in Europe say that none of this would exclude the export of eggs.
Goldnick said that an egg producer friend had recently told him that “if the price was good, then I will deliver.” Any transaction concludes or not to be summed up with commercial decisions, he said.
“I have two souls in my chest. On the one hand, I would say:” No, we cannot support this system “, but that is not the right answer,” he said, referring to the new American prices on European products.
“The right answer is that we have to help where we can. And it concerns people. This does not concern the government. You would not support them or anything, but it is just the request of people at Easter, for eggs, and it is just as important to satisfy in America as here. ”
–Gera reported in Warsaw, Poland. Pietro de Cristofaro in Schoeneiche, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit, Giada Zampano in Rome and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.
