Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 14, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe U.S. seeks egg imports from Europe to address rising prices amid bird flu outbreaks. Denmark and Turkey are key players.
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - 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 request from the U.S. Department of Agriculture coincides with a raft of new U.S. tariffs on countries, including in Europe, and the threat of more. President Donald Trump has also threatened economic sanctions unless Denmark hands over control of Greenland to the United States.
U.S. wholesale egg prices are shattering records as an accelerating outbreak of bird flu in laying hens slashes supplies. Trump promised to lower egg prices on his first day in office but prices increased 59% on a year-on-year basis in February, the first full month of his administration.
A letter reviewed by Reuters showed that a representative of U.S. Department of Agriculture in Europe had sent formal inquiries to egg producing countries in late February seeking information on their ability and willingness to export eggs to the American market.
"We're still waiting to get more guidance from Washington on next steps, but do you have an estimate of the number of eggs that could be supplied to the United States (assuming they meet all the import requirements)," a follow-up letter to the Danish egg association in early March said.
"Washington is trying to get an estimate of the amount they could feasibly source," said the letter, received last week.
The Danish Egg Association said they would look into it but that there is no surplus of eggs in Europe.
"There is a shortage of eggs everywhere on a global scale because consumption is increasing and many are affected by bird flu," he added.
The spokesperson said they had requested more details on the conditions of such an agreement, highlighting that egg exports to the U.S. were challenging due to regulations related to hygiene and other factors.
Turkey said in February it had started exporting around 15,000 tonnes of eggs to the United States.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last month announced the plan to seek imported eggs as part of a $1 billion effort to combat the bird flu. The U.S. embassy in Copenhagen did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Reuters has also requested comment from the Department of Agriculture.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
The U.S. is facing surging egg prices due to a shortage caused by an outbreak of bird flu affecting laying hens, prompting the Department of Agriculture to reach out to other countries for potential egg exports.
Exporting eggs to the U.S. is challenging due to strict regulations related to hygiene and other import conditions, as highlighted by the Danish Egg Association.
The Danish Egg Association indicated they would investigate the possibility of exporting eggs but noted that there is currently no surplus of eggs in Europe.
Turkey has started exporting around 15,000 tonnes of eggs to the United States as part of its response to the egg supply crisis.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a plan to seek imported eggs as part of a $1 billion effort to combat the bird flu and stabilize egg prices.
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