The Dutch will come to the aid of the US which is running out of eggs as a result of a serious attack of bird flu.
Nearly 47 million chickens have died so far in the H5N2 virus outbreak which spread rapidly through farms in the Midwest in the early spring.
Some 35 million of these were hens, 80% of whose eggs were destined for the so-called breaker market in which eggs are liquefied, dried or frozen for use in processed foods such as mayonnaise and cakes.
The interruption to the supply chain was swift, taking only a few weeks. The US will shortly import egg products from the Netherlands. It will be the first time in more than 10 years that the US has bought eggs from a European country.
Only Canada had been certified to sell liquid, dried and frozen egg products to US companies in recent years. But with manufacturers now desperate, authorities in the US again put the Netherlands on the approved list.
As for whole eggs still in their shells, Portugal is one of seven approved countries for US import along with France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Chile and Argentina.
Usually, the US has sufficient eggs for itself while also exporting more than 30 million dozen every month to countries including Mexico and Canada.
As is usual in times of shortage, prices have shot up. Egg products for manufacturing rocketed more than 200% in the last month. Some bakeries have resorted to buying fresh eggs and cracking them in order to continue production.
At least one supermarket, however, has begun to limit the number of cartons per purchase to keep eggs available to households. But shoppers, too, have been hit by higher costs. A carton of large eggs went up more than 120% in one month, reaching an average of $2.60 a dozen.
Officials hope the bird flu virus will be killed off once temperatures are consistently in the 80s F.
