As egg prices soar, U.S. Customs and Border Protection cracks down on egg smuggling

Eggs for sale are displayed inside a poultry store on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

As consumers face skyrocketing egg prices, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports an increase of people attempting to smuggle eggs across the border from Mexico.

The CBP’s San Diego Field Office reported Thursday seeing a 158 per cent increase in egg interceptions since the fiscal year of 2024.

A CBP spokesperson told CNN the agency has seen a 29 per cent increase in eggs being detained at ports of entry this fiscal year when compared to the same time-period in the last fiscal year (October 2023 – February 2024).

Egg prices have jumped to all-time highs due in part to an outbreak of avian flu, or bird flu, that has been afflicting egg-laying hens in the U.S. since 2022. Across the past three years, about 166 million birds have been affected by the deadly avian flu, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.

“It is critical that we keep our traveling public informed to safeguard our agricultural industry while continuing to facilitate legitimate trade and travel,” Sidney Aki, CBP director of field operations in San Diego said in a statement Thursday.

Speaking with CNN from near the Mexico border, San Diego resident Johnny Williams described how “one time I got to see how a man who tried to cross 24 eggs to the U.S. and CBP agents confiscated them. I really think it’s an exaggeration with the egg prices in the U.S.”

Further east in Texas, El Paso area CBP not only reported busting 64 pounds of methamphetamine but “CBP agriculture specialists issued 16 civil penalties totaling almost $4,000 linked to the attempted smuggling of prohibited agriculture and food products including raw eggs,” the CBP said in a press release on Feb. 21.

The director of field operations for the CBP’s Laredo, Texas, office posted a video on X this week warning people not to import eggs saying, “The Laredo Field Office along with CBP would like to remind the public that it is prohibited to import raw/fresh eggs, raw chicken, or live birds.”

Travelers are required to declare all agricultural products to CBP officers and agriculture specialists or face fines of up to $10,000.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on Wednesday a plan to invest US$1 billion in strategies to rein in soaring egg prices. Yet in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Rollins acknowledged that it “won’t erase the problem overnight.” Rather, she said the egg market won’t stabilize for another “three to six months.”

The average cost of a dozen eggs in January was US$4.95, almost double the price from a year prior and surpassing a record high, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Article written by Jennifer Hauser.

CNN’s Gonzalo Alvarado contributed to this reporting with previous reporting from CNN’s John Towfighi.