The United States has sought help from Lithuania in a desperate search for eggs amidst a worsening shortage due to bird flu. The outbreak hit American poultry farms hard, sending egg prices soaring and leading the US to knock on the doors of various European nations, including Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands, as Danish magazine AgriWatch reported. However, with Finland already turning down the request over market access agreements, the US is eyeing Lithuania as a potential supplier.
The US embassy in Warsaw contacted Lithuanian poultry producers, as per LRT. Gytis Kauzonas, the head of the Lithuanian Poultry Association, confirmed discussions with Lithuanian company leaders initiated by embassy officials. He said: “We have provided the requested information, but we have not yet received a reply.”
Reddit users have been quick to ridicule the US’s predicament, with one calling it “door-to-door begging”.
The situation is particularly ironic given the strained relations between the US and Europe during Donald Trump’s time in office after starting a trade war with tariffs.
A user commented: “This is just top-notch, isn’t it. First, insult your bordering allies, threaten to annex Canada, then threaten your overseas allies with annexing Greenland, then insult them saying they exist solely to screw the US, then start the most ridiculous trade war the world has yet seen … and then beg for eggs because the shortage is getting out of hand.”
Another added: “The greatest country in the world doesn’t have affordable eggs.” A fourth joked: “Nothing says Make America Great Again than begging other countries for some eggs”.
Someone else wrote: “My god they’re really just going around with their hands held out aren’t they?”
In the wake of the bird flu outbreak, the American poultry sector has faced crippling challenges. The H5N1 strain’s impact has ravaged over 166 million birds, leading to a sharp decline in egg supply.
Despite Mr Trump’s assurances that he would slash egg prices from day one, Reuters found that during the initial full month of his term, egg prices soared by 59% in comparison to the same period in the previous year.
Newsweek also recorded that by the early part of March, the price tags for a dozen eggs in wholesale had skyrocketed to over $8 (£6).
Trading Economics acknowledged a dip since that peak, with costs hovering around $6 (£4), but these figures still remain significantly higher than the past norms.