If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, I’m sure you’ve noticed the price increase of eggs. In Iowa, egg prices have jumped 153%, which is around $4.44 per dozen. However, that is still one of the lower costing states. Florida is the second most expensive at $6.36 per dozen and Hawaii is the most expensive with citizens of Hawaii paying $9.73 per dozen. Egg prices have increased drastically because of an outbreak of the avian bird flu. 57 million birds have died throughout commercial and backyard operations. This sickness is odd because one day the birds will be fine and then overnight they will die. The loss of birds is causing an up-tick in eggs being brought across the US-Mexico border, specifically the Tijuana-San Diego crossing. According to the director of field operations, Jennifer De La O, “As a reminder, uncooked eggs are prohibited entry from Mexico into the U.S. Failure to declare agriculture items can result in penalties of up to $10,000.” Bringing eggs in from Mexico is illegal due the risk of bird flu and Newcastle disease (another variation of bird flu). If a person declares they have eggs when crossing, they can give them up without punishments. CBP agriculture specialists will then take the eggs and destroy them. However, people have been found with undeclared eggs during inspection and have gotten $3o0 penalties. Penalties will increase if you are a repeat offender or make a commercial size import. Many items are allowed to be brought into the US, so it is better to claim all your items because if you don’t you will be subject to punishments.

Source:https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/22/us/mexico-border-egg-smuggling-trnd/index.html

Source:https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2023/01/18/egg-prices-avian-flu-inflation/11067700002/