Inaction over egg shortage caused by bird flu opens up unexpected front for Donald Trump

President Donald Trump has inherited a strong economy with booming labor and stock markets. But inflation, which appears to be picking up, the expected impact on consumer prices of tariffs on Mexico and Canada — where much of the fruit and vegetables consumed in the United States come from — and a persistent outbreak of bird flu that has driven up the price of eggs, are combining against a leader who, amid the volley of executive orders of his accelerated presidential debut, has barely paid attention to the economy. The White House’s room for maneuver seems to be shrinking as prices continue to rise, and the fact that a dozen eggs cost $14 this week in some New York supermarkets is not helping to inspire optimism among the population.

The shortage and high cost of eggs has become a national crisis, with rationing inevitably ensuing. The strangled supply has driven up prices, with a 14 percent jump from November to December alone, when the average price hit $4.15 a dozen (nearly the record of $4.82 two years earlier, in that case driven by inflation), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects them to rise another 20 percent this year. Many restaurants are beginning to implement price increases, with the Waffle House chain, with 2,100 locations, adding a fifty-cent surcharge per unit. Smaller chains and local restaurants and individual restaurants are taking similar steps.

The price of a dozen eggs reached more than eight dollars this week in wholesale markets, more than double that of a year ago and the highest ever recorded, according to Expana, a website with information on the price of raw materials. Large distributors such as Walmart and Costco have begun to ration the supply of eggs as the culling of millions of hens continues in an effort to control a variant of bird flu that first appeared in the U.S. three years ago, by 2024 was responsible for the death of more than 40 million laying birds, and which has now also jumped to dairy cows.

The manager of a Trader Joe’s, a popular supermarket chain with 600 stores across the country, recommended on Tuesday that customers go very early in the morning if they want to get one dozen, the only amount allowed, because they have also limited the number of cartons per person. “We restock daily but they disappear as soon as we open, most days there are people lining up at the door hours before we open. If you want to buy eggs, just one dozen per customer per day, you have to come before 10 a.m., and I can’t guarantee that there will be any left by then,” explained the manager at a store in New York. In supermarkets that do not set limits, prices of one carton ranged from $6 to $14 at a supermarket in the Big Apple.

There are no signs that the trend is slowing down. Bird flu continues to ravage farms despite measures such as New York’s decision to close all live poultry markets, and wholesale prices have doubled in the past year. Shortages, high prices and rationing are three words that probably do not make Trump very happy, and are far removed from the concerns or the daily experiences of his own circle. But none of his executive orders or decrees have specifically addressed inflation or the rising price of food, instead focusing on bringing back plastic straws or ending production of one-cent coins. Hence, criticism about his management of the economy has not been long coming, while experts point out that Washington and by extension state authorities could do more to stop the chain of contagion.

Industry leaders, including the American Egg Board, are calling for a “comprehensive response.” Possible solutions, however, are controversial and costly, and there is no broad agreement on the scope of the approach. Meanwhile, the issue provides political ammunition: Democrats accuse Trump of doing nothing despite his promise to lower the cost of the basic basket of goods immediately after winning the election. The White House is defending itself by attacking, claiming that prices have continued to rise because the Biden Administration and the Department of Agriculture “directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens, which has led to a lack of chicken supply in this country, therefore a lack of egg supply, which is leading to the shortage,” said the White House press secretary last week.

The virus has been responsible for the deaths of 130 million birds since 2022, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. But that’s because the Department of Agriculture requires the culling of entire flocks once the virus is detected — it happened under Biden and it’s happening now under the Republican administration. Take, for example, the 100,000 ducks slaughtered in just three days in January at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, New York. The facility supplied some of the Big Apple’s top restaurants.

According to experts, it can take up to nine months to restock a laying flock, which is why egg prices will remain high this year. But there are steps the federal government could take to try to protect poultry farms, as police continue their investigation to find out who — and why — stole a truck trailer carrying 100,000 eggs in Pennsylvania in early February. The whereabouts of the cargo remains a mystery.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition