Brazil to nearly double egg exports as U.S. reels from shortages

By Clarice Couto

Brazil is preparing to boost exports as the U.S. faces a shortage of eggs due to the worst-ever outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Industry group ABPA, which represents Brazilian poultry, pork and eggs exporters, is raising its estimate for overseas egg shipments to as much as 35,000 tons in 2025, nearly double last year’s 18,000 tons. That’s also up 67% from ABPA’s December forecast. 

“We have made the revision considering January exports and the demand reported by exporting companies,” said ABPA President Ricardo Santin in an interview. “It was mainly due to the U.S. purchases that started at the beginning of the year.”

The U.S. this year started allowing companies to buy Brazilian eggs to produce food for human consumption, after previously only allowing eggs to be used in pet food production, Santin said. The South American nation can’t export fresh eggs to be sold directly to consumers, as it lacks the necessary sanitary agreement with the U.S., though American companies can import eggs and take care of the processing. 

At the same time, Brazilian companies are moving to expand their presence in the U.S. South America’s top egg producer Mantiqueira Brasil, which last month sold a 50% stake in itself to meat producer JBS SA, said it is weighing a merger or acquisition to enter the U.S .market. Another major egg producer, Granja Faria, has hired banks for a U.S. IPO, local media Valor reported.

The move comes as the U.S. bird flu outbreak has killed tens of millions of chickens and reduced egg supplies, causing prices to soar to records. Grocery stores have been limiting how many eggs customers can buy while some restaurants have put in surcharges due to the high costs.

The Trump administration announced last month plans to boost egg imports to as many as 100 million as part of the government’s strategy to contain the outbreak and bring down prices.

Brazil, the world’s largest beef and chicken supplier, in January exported a total of 2,357 tons of eggs, with sales to the U.S. growing 33% from a year earlier. That’s only a fraction of the US’s total production, which in January amounted to more than 8 billion eggs.