Inflation is a tough yoke for Americans to bear and now some smugglers aren’t afraid to play chicken with border officials to bring in raw eggs from other countries.
Authorities on the border are seeing more seizures of eggs and poultry as people continue to try and bring the much-needed foods into the United States amid soaring costs.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports a 108% increase in seized egg products and poultry at ports of entry from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 of last year, according to Border Report, a news outlet that focuses on the southern border.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics claims the average cost for a dozen grade A eggs in November was $3.59 - the average cost for the same carton was $1.72 just one year ago.
Related: Deck the Halls With More Inflation: Wholesale Prices Continue ...
The San Diego Field Office has recently noticed an increase in the number of eggs intercepted at our ports of entry. As a reminder, uncooked eggs are prohibited entry from Mexico into the U.S. Failure to declare agriculture items can result in penalties of up to $10,000. pic.twitter.com/ukMUvyKDmL
— Director of Field Operations Jennifer De La O (@DFOSanDiegoCA) January 18, 2023
The director of field operations for the CBP's San Diego office, recently tweeted out that officials are cracking down on eggs and that failure to declare the items to customs could result in a $10,000 penalty.
At that cost - the penalty is worth over two-thousand cartons of eggs… at least for now.