United States customs officers are making more seizures of poultry products, including eggs, than fentanyl, according to an analysis of official data by The Logic.
The U.S. has reported a 36 per cent jump in people trying to bring eggs into the country illegally since October, compared to the same period last year, as avian flu drives up costs. At the northern border with Canada, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Detroit field office also recorded a 36 per cent increase during the same period. The San Diego field office, close to the border with Tijuana, Mexico, saw the number of egg seizures fly up 158 per cent.
The increase in egg smuggling comes as President Donald Trump wages a trade war with Canada and Mexico which he has attempted to justify by declaring a national emergency on border security related to illegal drugs and migration.
CBP won’t release the number of eggs it has stopped at the Canada-U.S. border, making a direct comparison to fentanyl impossible, but the agency does publish statistics on seizures of bird and poultry-related products.
These statistics reveal that, since October, U.S. CBP officers have made 3,768 seizures of bird and poultry-related products at all U.S. borders, compared to 352 fentanyl seizures in the same period. Bringing fresh eggs into the U.S. is illegal because of concerns about diseases. The same goes for raw chicken and other unprocessed bird products.
The number of fentanyl seizures versus the number of egg seizures has raised eyebrows at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “As serious as combatting illegal fentanyl is, its link to these trade decisions is highly questionable,” said Matthew Holmes, chief of public policy for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “It appears there are more eggs being smuggled into the U.S. from Canada right now than fentanyl.” Less than one per cent of fentanyl seizures occur at the U.S.’s northern border.
Americans have been slammed with rising egg prices over the past two months, after the avian flu kneecapped 18.8 million commercial egg layers. Prices are expected to increase another 41.1 per cent in 2025, even after rising 8.4 per cent in December 2024 and 13.8 per cent in January, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data shows.
At a No Frills grocery store in Niagara Falls, Ont., just a 10-minute drive from the U.S. border, Americans have been spotted hunting for cheap Canadian eggs. Steve, who works in the store’s dairy department, said he recognizes American egg hunters by their accent. “Because of how they pronounce ‘dollar,’ I know right off the bat they’re American,” Steve said. He opted not to share his last name to avoid trouble at work, but said the American accent is familiar because he has relatives in New York State.
The cheapest carton of a dozen eggs at No Frills is $3.73. In the U.S., the average price is now US$4.95 (C$7.13), almost double what it was at the same time last year when Americans paid only US$2.52 (C$3.63) on average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics.
At Red Barn Organics, an organic food shop on the east side of Niagara Falls, where eggs sell for a pricier $7.99, owner Tony Vrkljan has also had Americans visiting looking for eggs. His small farm stand hasn’t had any outlandish orders from Americans, but he has heard of some buying eggs in bulk to bring across the border.
Trump has called the U.S. egg crisis “out of control” and baselessly blamed former president Joe Biden. Last week, the USDA said it would spend US$1 billion to “explore temporary import options,” improve biosecurity, give financial relief for farmers and fund vaccine research, among other things. The U.S. search for eggs abroad has raised speculation about Canada coming to the rescue, and perhaps gaining some leverage in the tariff negotiations.
Though Canada has fared far better during the avian flu outbreak, the U.S. hasn’t approached the Canadian government to help with temporary imports, said Annie Cullinan, press secretary for Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay. “But we’re always happy to discuss how we can support our trading partners,” Cullinan added.
Even if Canada were keen to help out its southern neighbours during the tariff war, it probably couldn’t, said Bruce Muirhead, a University of Waterloo professor who studies transnational agricultural models. At least, not on an emergency basis. “It would take at least eight months to even begin to contemplate supplying them with more eggs,” he said.
The average Canadian egg farm has about 22,500 birds, which is significantly smaller than U.S. farms. In Iowa, some farms have between 2 million and 6 million hens at a single location, he said. Canada doesn’t export the kind of eggs you’d find in cartons in the grocery store to the U.S., but does export some hatching eggs and processed egg products.
Eggs fall under supply management in Canada, along with dairy and poultry. That means production is calibrated to Canadian demand, and imports are limited as a way to set stable prices for both farmers and consumers. It’s a system that’s become politically sacrosanct in Canada, particularly when it comes to dairy, but one that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is keen to crack.
Responding to the U.S. egg price crisis would take investment and upset the delicately managed supply, Muirhead said. “It would fundamentally rework the entire system, because it is quota-based,” he said. Farmers would be unlikely to do that on a temporary basis, and the Americans are unlikely to open up their market long term, he said.
What’s left, said Muirhead, is for Americans to “cross the border and buy Canadian eggs.” Most people come clean at the border about trying to take Canadian eggs home to the U.S. and haven’t faced penalties, according to the U.S. border agency, but those caught trying to smuggle them go home with a US$300 penalty instead.
Source: The Logic
