US Rapidly Increasing Foreign Egg Imports Amid Bird Flu

Reuters’ Tom Polansek and Leah Douglas reported that “the U.S. has almost doubled imports of Brazilian eggs once used only for pet food and is considering relaxing regulations for eggs laid by chickens raised for meat, as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to bring down sky-high prices spiked by bird flu.”

“The Trump administration is also promoting imports from countries such as Turkey … and South Korea that typically send few eggs to the U.S., and has asked Europe to send more,” Polansek and Douglas reported. “…In February, the administration announced a $1 billion plan to lower egg prices, which includes helping farmers prevent the spread of the virus and researching vaccine options.”

“While none of the Brazilian or broiler chicken eggs would wind up on grocery shelves, they could be used in processed foods such as cake mixes, ice cream or salad dressing, freeing up more fresh eggs for shoppers.” Polansek and Douglas reported. “Allowing use of broiler chicken eggs would require changing regulations, and some food safety experts warned that this could risk tainting food products with harmful bacteria.”

US Increasing Egg Imports from South Korea and Turkey

The Hill’s Brett Samuels reported late last week that “the Trump administration is importing millions of eggs from Turkey and South Korea, with other countries likely to be contributing in the coming weeks, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday.”

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said “hundreds of millions” of eggs will be imported from South Korea and Turkey, with more deals on the way for short-term relief.

Read more: https://t.co/AobIoqoCtQ pic.twitter.com/t0LrKo4nB1

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) March 21, 2025

“‘Right now, we’ve got Turkey and South Korea importing eggs. Just yesterday, I talked to a couple of other countries that will soon begin importing. We haven’t signed that deal yet, so I don’t want to say who it is,’ Rollins told reporters at the White House,” according to Samuels’ reporting. “‘We are talking in the hundreds of millions of eggs for the short term. So not insignificant, but significant enough to help continue to bring the prices down for right now,’ she continued. ‘And then when our chicken populations are repopulated, and we’ve got a full egg-laying industry going again, hopefully in a couple of months, we then shift back to our internal egg-layers and moving those eggs out onto the shelf.'”

Europe Could Provide More Eggs to the US, too

Bloomberg’s Antonio Vanuzzo and Flavia Rotondi reported late last week that “US officials have asked Italian producers if they can help secure egg supplies amid shortages and upcoming holidays, including Easter and Passover.”

“Gian Luca Bagnara, head of the Assoavi Italian association of egg producers, said he was surprised to hear in recent days from a US embassy representative, who asked how many eggs Italian farmers could ship to the US in the next six months,” Vanuzzo and Rotondi reported. “‘I felt really proud and started making inquiries. This could be an opportunity for building new international relations and we are eager to help,’ Bagnara said. But the headroom for exports is very limited, he admitted, as only about 10% of Italian production is sold abroad.”

“With about 13 billion eggs a year, Italy is Europe’s fourth biggest producer, according to Unaitalia, a local association of meat and egg producers,” Vanuzzo and Rotondi reported. “Roughly a quarter of production comes from the northern Veneto region, according to daily Corriere della Sera, which first reported the contact between the US and the Italian association Assoavi.”

In addition, Reuters reported March 14 that “the United States has reached out to Denmark and other European nations asking if they can export eggs as Americans face surging egg prices, the Nordic country’s egg association said on Friday. …The Danish Egg Association said they would look into it but that there is no surplus of eggs in Europe.”

Chicken Industry Seeking Relaxed Regulations

Polansek and Douglas reported that “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told Reuters it is reviewing a petition from the National Chicken Council to allow sale for human consumption of eggs laid by chickens that the council’s members raise for meat.”

“Each year, broiler chickens lay about 360 million eggs that are not fit to hatch chicks, according to the council,” Polansek and Douglas reported. “Some are used to manufacture vaccines, exported or used for other purposes, the petition said, but most are destroyed.”

“Currently, broiler chicken producers destroy millions of those eggs because they lack sufficient refrigeration to meet an FDA food-safety requirement,” Polansek and Douglas reported. “In 2023, the FDA denied a similar request from the council, citing salmonella risk. The chicken industry hopes the agency will now support the effort as aligned with Trump’s goal of slashing unnecessary regulations, said Ashley Peterson, the council’s senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs.”