U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents have seen a spike in attempts to illegally smuggle eggs across the Mexican border into the U.S. amid high egg prices, a spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
U.S. egg prices soared 60% from December 2021 to December 2022, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) blames the impact of avian bird flu. Eggs in Mexico remain significantly cheaper than those in the US, prompting some to smuggle them across the border, CBP told the DCNF.
While most attempts to transport eggs over the border are “not necessarily smuggling,” as people declare them when crossing the border, there has been a recent rise in undeclared egg transportation.
“There have been a very small number of cases in the last week or so where the eggs were not declared and then discovered during an inspection,” a CPB spokesperson told the DCNF. “When that happens the eggs are seized and the individual is assessed a $300 civil penalty. Penalties can be higher for repeat offenders or commercial size imports.”
The San Diego Field Office has recently noticed an increase in the number of eggs intercepted at our ports of entry. 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. pic.twitter.com/ukMUvyKDmL
— Director of Field Operations Sidney Aki (@DFOSanDiegoCA) January 18, 2023
CBP’s San Diego field office saw a 397% increase in egg seizures from the last quarter of 2021 to 2022, while Tucson, Arizona, saw a 320% increase and Laredo, Texas, saw a 313% increase over the same period. The USDA banned raw egg and poultry products from being brought across the border in 2012 due to concerns about diseases infecting U.S. agricultural products, according to the LA Times.
By Laurel Duggan