The contraband is yet another sign of how far consumers will go to battle soaring prices
By Jeanne Whalen of The WSJ. Excerpts:
"As egg prices soar in the U.S., travelers have been stocking up on cheaper supplies in Mexico and, to some degree, Canada. The U.S. Department of Agriculture bans such imports because eggs not inspected through official channels can spread disease."
"egg interceptions are up 36% nationwide so far this fiscal year, compared with the previous year"
"Along parts of the Texas border, they have risen by 54%"
"Roger Maier, a CBP (Customs and Border Protection ) [said] . . . “The price [in mexico] is like a third of what it is in the U.S.”"
"A dozen grade-A large eggs averaged $5.90 last month in the U.S., a record, compared with $3 a year earlier"
"An outbreak of avian flu that has decimated U.S. hens is behind the surge"
"Recent egg prices in Mexico were generally under $2 a dozen, though in some border cities they reached $2.30 or so"
"As April approaches, agents are encountering an extra wrinkle. Some travelers are now carrying festive Easter eggs popular in Mexico known as cascarones—empty egg shells filled with confetti. These are legal, but agents might need to double-check that they aren’t real eggs. “We do allow a dozen cascarones per traveler,” said a CBP official on the Texas border, “but these are eggs that are clean and dry and don’t have any egg residue.”"
Also see U.S. border officials have caught more people with eggs than fentanyl this year by Tammy Ibrahimpoor and Charlie Buckley.
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Here is a graph of prices from this post:
