Report: Border Agents Face Influx of Smuggled Eggs as Prices Skyrocket

The price of eggs has risen 60% in the past year. Eggs can be seen on a shelf at Pioneer Supermarkets in Flatbush, Brooklyn on January 12, 2023. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images).

Border agents are working fast to solve a new problem that is entering the country: eggs being smuggled into the country as contraband.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers observed more than 2,000 contacts with individuals trying to smuggle egg into the country between November 1 and January 17. This included four cities: San Diego (California) and El Paso (Texas). Last year, there were only 460 encounters. New York Times reported.

Egg smuggling increases the food’s cost. rose 60 percent in 2022. Grade A eggs increased from $1.79 per dozen to $4.25 annually in December 2021. later. The factors that led to the rise include an outbreak of bird flu which affected tens of thousands of chickens, and the soaring inflation rates under the Biden administration.

Some items are not eligible for the grocery bill relief program. Mexico bans the import of animal products and certain fruits and veggies.

Failure to report cargo can result in a penalty. Times reported:

People who claim they have crossed the border with eggs “can abandon the product without consequence,” [CBP spokesman Roger Maier] said. He said that Customs and Border Protection agricultural experts collect and destroy eggs.

Mr. Maier stated that in a “very small number of cases in the last week or so,” Eggs were not declared and found during inspection. He stated that the $300 civil penalty was issued to those who were involved in those cases. Repeat offenders and people who bring in eggs for commercial use can face higher fines, he stated.