U.S. officials cracking down on people trying to bring valuable eggs across the border

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl across the border must be stopped.

But U.S. border officials are increasingly cracking down on another valuable product these days: eggs.

Officials made 3,254 egg-related seizures in January and February 2025, according to new data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). That's a 116 per cent increase in egg seizures compared to the 1,508 events the same two months a year ago.

The rise comes as U.S. wholesale egg prices are shattering records as an accelerating outbreak of bird flu in laying hens slashes supplies. Trump promised to lower egg prices on his first day in office but prices increased 59 per cent on a year-on-year basis in February, the first full month of his administration.

And while wholesale prices may be coming back down, they "have yet to be reflected at store shelves," according to the USDA's most recent egg markets overview.

Egg interceptions at the Detroit border crossing (where most eggs are coming in from Canada) increased 36 per cent in the 2025 fiscal year compared to the same time period in 2024, according to data provided by CBP to CBC News.

In Windsor, Ont., a dozen large white eggs at Walmart currently costs about $3.93. On the other side of the border in Michigan, a dozen large white eggs at Walmart costs about $8.50 Cdn.

Overall, the U.S. CBP reports a 36 per cent increase in eggs being detained at all ports of entry this fiscal year, which is October 2024 to February 2025.

These numbers do not capture what is actually smuggled into the country, although CBP says most of the egg seizures happen after travellers willingly declare the product.

Fentanyl, on the other hand, was intercepted by CBP 134 times in January and February this year, down 32 per cent from 197 seizures the same two months in 2024. Of those 134 events in 2025, nine were at the northern border with Canada, working out to 0.53 kilograms of the 740 kilograms seized so far overall.

Canada has represented less than one per cent of all seized fentanyl imports into the U.S., according to federal data. About 19.5 kilograms was seized at the northern border last year compared to 9,570 kilograms at the southwestern border.

The latest monthly Consumer Price Index showed a dozen Grade A eggs cost an average of $5.90 US, or about $8.40 Cdn, in U.S. cities in February, up 10.4 per cent from a year ago.That eclipsed January's record-high price of $4.95 US, or about $7 Cdn.

The CBP has issued at least two different warnings so far this year about smuggling raw eggs across the border from Mexico. The San Diego Field Office has seen a 158 per cent increase in egg interceptions since fiscal year 2024, according to a news release on Feb. 27.

Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in El Paso, Texas, have stopped at least 90 people from attempting to smuggle raw eggs into the country from Mexico since January, the agency said in a news release Feb. 21.