Ukraine is ready to export eggs to the US to receive financial and military assistance

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected a request from the Trump administration that Kyiv hand over 50 percent of its mineral resources, an extraordinary demand that could significantly overshadow the value of aid sent to Ukraine, The Washington Post reports.

Ukrainian officials are working on a counterproposal that would still give Washington greater access to the country’s natural resources but would strengthen U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, according to seven people familiar with the discussions.

One senior Ukrainian official joked that the country’s leaders would consider almost anything to maintain U.S. support, including, he said, massive shipments of Ukrainian eggs. The country has a surplus of eggs, and its leaders are aware of the sharp rise in their price in the United States.

Egg prices in the United States soared by 15.2% in January compared to the previous month, the highest monthly increase since June 2015, MarketWatch reports.

According to inflation data released on Tuesday by the US Bureau of Statistics, eggs rose by 70.1% in January compared to last year.

“The highly contagious, deadly bird flu has wreaked havoc on the egg market, limiting the nation’s egg supply. This, as well as higher feed and transportation costs for producers, have pushed up prices. And some producers are also raising their own profits, leading some to call for a federal investigation into possible price gouging,” the CNN article says.

Some grocery stores have begun to impose limits on the number of eggs a customer can buy. These include Costco Wholesale (three cartons of 24 or 48 per day per person) and Trader Joe’s (one carton of 12 eggs), as well as the Sam’s Club wholesale and retail chain owned by Walmart Inc.

Meanwhile, rising prices and sales restrictions do not mean a real shortage of eggs in the country, experts say. Production on U.S. farms in December amounted to 9.12 billion eggs, which is only 3% less than the same month a year earlier, according to the Department of Agriculture.

The wholesale price of a 12-pack of large eggs last week was $7.34, more than three times higher than last year’s level, according to the department.

At the same time, retail stores usually sell eggs at a price lower than the wholesale price, as they are among the bait products that retailers sell at a loss to attract customers. They hope that the customer who comes to the store will buy other goods in addition to eggs, which will compensate for their losses.

Consumer prices (the so-called CPI index) in the United States in January increased by 0.5% compared to the previous month, according to the Labor Department. Two-thirds of this increase was due to a rise in the price of eggs.

The average retail price of a dozen large A-category eggs last month was $4.95, which is double the figure from a year ago and a record, according to the Labor Department. The previous high of $4.82 was set in January 2023.

But, according to CNN, many other food products have risen in price in the United States this year. Some dairy products have risen sharply: butter has gone up by 26.3% and margarine by 44.7%.

Over the past year, many other staples have risen significantly. Flour went up by 20.4%, bread by 14.9%, sugar by 13.5%, and milk by 11%. Chicken prices increased by 10.5%, and fruits and vegetables went up by 7.2%. Overall, food prices in the US rose by 11.3% over the year.

As a reminder, the sharp rise in prices for chicken eggs in the US caused by the bird flu outbreak is forcing retailers to take emergency measures and customers to reconsider their financial capabilities and sometimes go to extremes.

By the way, eggs, as a scarce commodity, have already come to the attention of criminals. In early February, criminals in Pennsylvania stole 100 thousand eggs worth $40 thousand from a truck delivering products to the Pete & Gerry’s Organics store.

Tags: Ukraine, USA, eggs