Big Apple in crisis over soaring egg prices

Telegraph

02-04-2025

Complaints about the price of eggs may have started in the Rustbelt but now it's the talk of Manhattan.
'It's crazy. They're just soooo expensive', says a Lulu Lemon mum returning from a morning jog on Park Avenue. 'I need my post-workout eggs.'
At Salt's Cure, a Tik-Tok famous brunch spot in Greenwich village, the proprietor has strategically placed cards next to the till to see off any potential egg-rage.
'Due to rising costs, the price of eggs has increased by 25 cents per egg,' the neatly printed cards explain. 'We appreciate your understanding and continued support.'
Meanwhile, at a Whole Foods uptown, the egg crisis enveloping the Big Apple has left the shelves eerily barren.
And at delis across the city, shopkeepers have taken to selling 'loosies' – single eggs for those unable to fork out $13 for a dozen.
The unprecedented surge in US egg prices is being driven by the H5N1 bird flu epidemic which has ravaged America's cattle and poultry farms.
More than 166 million commercial birds have had to be culled over the last three years, causing egg prices to soar and many consumers to become outraged.
'WTF, it's cheaper to paint an avocado than buy an egg this Easter!', notes a widely shared social media post this week.
Eggs are a staple of the American diet in a way that they are not quite in Britain.
Whether you live in a pile dwelling in Louisiana or in a high-rise on the Upper East Side they dominate menus and home cooking.
Pancakes, waffles, tortillas, huevos rancheros and donuts are everywhere.
And just as the Inuits have 412 words for snow, Americans have a highly developed egg-related lexicon.
You can't go to a diner without knowing the difference between 'over medium' and 'over easy', for example.
The shortage has become so acute that eggs are now being smuggled in their millions from Mexico, where they cost just $2 per dozen on average (an $11 saving).
Since October, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have made 3,768 poultry-related seizures at the border – almost 10 times the number of fentanyl interceptions during the same period.
The Trump administration is now scrambling to try and ease the hit on consumers and replenish stock by importing eggs from abroad.
Trump himself said at a press conference recently that 'the only problem with eggs was Joe Biden,' adding that prices are now 'way down,' – a statement that has been widely disputed.
Deals have already been secured with Turkey and South Korea, and others like Poland and Lithuania have reportedly been approached by the US government for talks about exporting their eggs too.
'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 move those eggs out onto the shelf,' Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters at the White House last week.
Back in Manhattan, New Yorkers are finding creative ways to cope.
Over 50 delis across the city have introduced the 'Bird Flu Bailout' sandwich as an alternative to the classic bacon, egg, and cheese that's been the city's go-to hangover cure since the 1960s.
The sandwich was created by the San Francisco startup 'Just Egg' and uses a mung bean-based substitute for eggs to craft the iconic take-away.
'Plants don't get the flu. Try one of our plant-based egg breakfast items today,' the sandwich's promotional ad reads.