- The U.S. government is asking European countries, including Denmark, to ramp up egg exports as American poultry farms reel from the spread of the avian flu, hiking up egg prices. The request comes after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Denmark, saying the U.S. would annex its territory of Greenland, while also threatening Europe with steep tariffs on alcohol.
The U.S. egg shortage has pushed the government to lean on Europe’s egg supplies, even as President Donald Trump threatens some countries with economic sanctions and steep tariffs.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has contacted Denmark and other European countries, asking them to ramp up egg exports amid the U.S. poultry farms’ battle with avian flu. A USDA representative in Europe formally contacted the Danish Egg Association in February about the trade organization’s willingness and capability to export eggs, according to letters viewed by Reuters.
"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 USDA letter sent earlier this month to the Danish Egg Association said.
"Washington is trying to get an estimate of the amount they could feasibly source," it continues.
The USDA did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
The USDA’s reported openness to accept exports from Denmark is markedly different in tone than President Donald Trump’s. He repeatedly claimed he would annex Denmark’s self-governing territory Greenland, even threatening economic sanctions and refusing to rule out military action to seize the island for its natural resources.
The administration’s broader entreaty to Europe also contrasts with its combative stance on trade. In addition to tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, Trump has also called for a 200% tax on European alcohol imports.
The U.S. isn’t putting all its egg export hopes in one basket. The efforts to diversify egg supply are part of the USDA’s proposal to invest $1 billion in addressing egg costs, which have spiked to a record high of $5.90 for a dozen in February, a 10.4% increase from a year before and up 189% from an August 2023 low, according to the consumer price index.
The avian flu has hobbled U.S. egg supply chains, resulting in the death of more than 20 million egg-laying hens in American farms in the last quarter of 2024. The U.S. has already sought help from Turkey, which plans to export 420 million eggs to the U.S. this year, according to the Egg Producers Central Union in Turkey.
Still, that pales in comparison to typical domestic supply. The U.S. produces 7.5 billion dozen eggs per year, according to the American Egg Board, but that number could decline should avian flu continue to ravage U.S. poultry farms.
Denmark responds
The Danish Egg Association, for its part, is open to the idea of sending eggs to the U.S. over the next six months, but has not received any additional details from the U.S. regarding the quantity of eggs the country can accommodate, Jørgen Nyberg Larsen, CEO of the trade group, told Fortune.
Larsen said the country doesn’t have a large oversupply of eggs with which to increase exports, and likely won’t in the near future because of increased demand ahead of Easter. The Danish Egg Association also plans to supply its long-term, loyal customers before shifting attention to the U.S. Exports from Denmark would likely be in modest numbers at best.
European countries also process their eggs differently, leaving on their natural protective coating. This means European eggs do not need to be refrigerated, as they are in the U.S. The different hygiene standards could complicate how eggs are shipped.
The risk and reward of importing eggs
Relying on European eggs is a far cry from a certain success. Following the laws of supply and demand, more eggs should help relieve sticker shock in the grocery aisle, according to Thomas Kull, professor of supply-chain management at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. Moreover, cheaper eggs from Europe could also pressure domestic producers to take a pricing hit and lower consumer costs, he told Fortune.
But in addition to Europe possibly not having eggs to spare, the U.S. will be concerned with how those eggs will arrive in the U.S., Kull said. There’s plenty of technology to transport delicate goods that are sensitive to vibrations, but the U.S. and exporting countries may lack the infrastructure to accommodate large egg shipments, with transport systems needing time to orient.
Above all, however, leaning on Europe for eggs could be a way for Trump to assert that his administration is trying to curb the supply problem.
“The ultimate goal is to show that something is being done, or someone's trying to do something,” Kull said. “You don't know exactly what’s going to work.”
