Overview

• The United States faces a severe egg shortage following the culling of over 166 million birds due to the H5N1 avian influenza outbreak.
• Egg prices in the US have surged, reaching approximately eight dollars per dozen in early March 2025.
• To alleviate the crisis, the US has requested increased egg exports from Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, though European nations face their own production constraints.
• Germany, already exporting small quantities via the spot market, lacks a surplus, producing only 73% of its domestic egg consumption in 2023.
• Geopolitical tensions, including strained US-Denmark relations linked to past disputes, add complexity to securing European egg imports.