Border guards have noticed an increase in egg smuggling from Mexico as prices rise

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Border guards have noticed an increase in egg smuggling from Mexico as prices rise.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are reporting an increase in persons trying to import eggs illegally from Mexico, where costs are lower, as the price of eggs continues to rise.

The increase in egg prices in the U.S., which increased 60% in December compared to a year earlier, is the best explanation for the rise in sightings of the illegal commodity. The biggest avian flu pandemic in U.S. history, together with inflationary pressure, supply-chain issues, and other factors, are to blame for the exorbitant costs people are seeing at the grocery store.

As a result, some grocery store chains are restricting the number of cartons that customers can purchase.

Why did the price of eggs increase so much in a year?
Additionally, some people are risking thousands of dollars in fines by smuggling eggs from other countries, where the prices are lower.

According to Border Report

The cost of a 30-count carton of eggs in Juárez, Mexico, is $3.40. Just a dozen eggs can now cost as much as $7.37 in some areas of the United States, such as California.

El Paso

According to CPB spokesperson Gerrelaine Alcordo, shoppers from El Paso, Texas, are purchasing eggs in Juárez because they are “much less expensive.”

The majority of folks who cross international crossings are upfront about their purchases since they are unaware that eggs are forbidden.

According to Alcordo, “usually, the things are declared during the initial inspection and at that point, the individual can abandon the goods without consequence.” Eggs that weren’t declared but were later found during inspection, according to a very tiny number of incidents in the previous few weeks, Alcordo said.

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Agriculture experts seize and destroy the products if they are found, as is customary for food that is prohibited. These people must pay a $300 punishment, though the fine may be increased for repeat offenders who import illegally in commercial quantities.

This Thursday, a customs agent in San Diego named Jennifer De La O tweeted about “an increase in the quantity of eggs intercepted at our ports.” She cautioned that failure to declare agricultural commodities might result in fines of up to $10,000.

According to CPB, it is illegal to bring in poultry, including chickens, and other animals, as well as their byproducts, including eggs.

Due to various health dangers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also restricts visitors from carrying eggs from other nations, with the exception of egg shells and mooncakes in specific circumstances.

Since 2012, the USDA has outlawed Mexican eggs “based on the finding of highly pathogenic avian influenza in commercial poultry.”

Daniel Harrison

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