The United States has asked Germany for more egg exports, a spokesperson for the German Egg Association confirmed to the DPA on Tuesday.
Facing a bird flu pandemic among its chickens, and other constraints, eggs are scarce in the US and have become expensive.
So US authorities have resorted to asking other countries including those in Europe for more exports of chicken eggs.
According to media reports, inquiries to this effect had been received by industry associations in Denmark and Sweden, among others.
"We have indeed received an inquiry from the USA," a spokesman for the German Egg Association told DPA.
The President of the German Egg Association (Bundesverband Ei), Hans-Peter Goldnick, confirmed that small quantities of eggs have been exported to the USA on the spot market.
But he added that the volume is low, because Germany does not have an abundance of eggs either: Only 73 percent of the eggs consumed in the country were produced domestically in 2023. The rest of Germany's eggs are imported.
A limited supply in Germany ahead of Easter
According to a report by Tagesschau industry insiders have also begun to speak of regional "egg shortages", for instance at the Hoppenrade egg packing station in Brandenburg.
However, Goldnick told Tagesschau, "There is no egg emergency."
Egg prices have risen a bit in Germany this year as demand has increased while the supply has dipped slightly.
Isolated outbreaks of bird flu in Europe have resulted in the slaughter of some egg-laying hens. Additionally portions of eggs have already been bought up by dyeing plants ahead of the Easter holiday.
All of that said, the egg association president is sure there will plenty of eggs available to fill customers' carts ahead of Easter weekend: "We just have to be careful not to act like we did during the Covid pandemic and treat the eggs in the same way as we treated toilet paper. If everyone buys two boxes instead of one, then the market is empty, that's the way it is."
Tension around requests from the US
Relations between the US and it's European allies are a bit tense given the current US administration's recent moves.
In Denmark, Trump's stated plans to buy Greenland has ruffled feathers. In both Denmark and Sweden a consumer boycott of US goods has gained some traction in response to Trump's turnaround on Ukraine, among other issues.
READ ALSO: Will German consumers join the growing boycott of US-made goods?
In Germany, US Vice-President JD Vance's disparaging comments about Germany and Europe, the Trump administration's threats to withdraw military support from the continent, and Trump's tariffs are among the major developing concerns.
German authorities are also "monitoring the situation" after three German nationals were detained at the US border in recent weeks. At least one of them - a long-term US resident with no serious criminal record or charges - was hospitalised after being subjected to harsh interrogation techniques in a federal detention facility, according to US media reports.
Nevertheless, US authorities can expect at least a few spare eggs from Germany and Denmark. Exporters with any eggs to spare are surely glad to sell them for a premium.
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