Americans Go Egg Hunting In Europe
By EurActiv
By Magnus Lund Nielsen
(EurActiv) — As Americans keep wringing their hands over skyrocketing egg prices, the United States has been reaching out to European producers to chip in – but Europeans have little help to provide.
“The US have asked virtually every country in Europe,” said Danish industry representative Jørgen Nyberg Larsen.
Larsen said suppliers and industry groups in Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Italy and fellow Nordic countries have received similar requests.
The requests come amid a growing Trump-driven trade riff between the US and its European partners.
In late February, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) office in The Hague reached out to European countries regarding potential supplies, Larsen said.
By early March, the USDA followed up with a request to assess the quantities each country could provide.
“Since then we haven’t heard anything,” Larsen says.
Market flooding
US consumers experienced a sharp rise in the cost of everyday essentials, and eggs in particular, fuelling economic discontent that played a key role in the US election outcome last year. Furthermore, a spike in bird flu in North America has pushed prices upwards. Egg prices were a frequent topic during the campaign, and have remained a politically charged issue in the US since Donald Trump was sworn in as president in January.
Last week, Trump stated that the egg prices were down – despite Associated Press reportsthat eggs prices in the US are actually the highest since the turn of the millennium.
While Finland has declined to send eggs, other countries are willing to assist. Turkey has agreed to provide the US with 15,000 tonnes of egg to curb prices. Other countries remain primarily focused on ensuring supply for consumers within the EU.
“We don’t have a lot to offer,” said Larsen.
Another major hurdle potential hurdle for would-be exporters is that the US washes its eggs, a practice that is uncommon in most EU countries and even illegal in parts of the bloc. As a result, any EU egg exports would have to undergo additional processing before reaching US consumers.
