DES MOINES, Iowa—With an increasing egg shortage due to the widespread bird flu outbreak, the United States will soon allow imported egg products from the Netherlands to be used for commercial baking and in processed foods.
It’s the first time in more than a decade the United States has bought eggs from a European nation, and comes as consumers are seeing a surge in shell egg prices and a Texas-based supermarket began limiting purchases.
Generally, the United States produces enough eggs to meet domestic supply and export more than 30 million dozen eggs a month to trade partners including Mexico and Canada, the largest buyers. But the H5N2 virus—which began to spread widely through Midwest farms in the early spring, including in Iowa, the nation’s largest egg producer—has left nearly 47 million birds dead or dying.
