White House Easter Egg Roll To Feature 30,000 Real Eggs Despite Tariff, Supply Hurdles

The annual White House tradition of rolling Easter eggs, scheduled for April 21, will move forward as planned, despite concerns over egg prices and supply issues resulting from the ongoing avian flu outbreak.

The event will feature 30,000 eggs for guests to decorate and use in games, a tradition that continues despite the challenges faced by American egg farmers.

The decision to go ahead with the Easter Egg Roll this year has sparked mixed reactions from egg farmers. The American Egg Board, which has been supplying the eggs for the event for years, has discussed the optics of donating tens of thousands of eggs given the strain the industry has been under and, despite internal debates, has decided to move forward with its contribution, reported NBC.

"We are very grateful to our partners who help make the White House Egg Roll come to life each year and especially to the American egg farmers who work hard to supply our nation with quality food," Nick Clemens, a spokesman for first lady Melania Trump, said.

Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, emphasized that the event would not contribute to the current egg supply strain. She stated that the eggs used for the Easter Egg Roll "will not create additional strain on the nation's egg supply or egg prices," and stressed the importance of celebrating the event in difficult times for egg farmers.

"The heart of this event is about bringing joy to children and families, and in these difficult times for egg farmers, it's important to celebrate wherever we can," Metz said.

This year's event will mark a first: only small- and medium-sized eggs will be used. These sizes, which are not typically sold in grocery stores, will be donated by farmers for the White House event.

In planning the event, the White House explored alternatives such as using plastic eggs or large eggs that would be sold in stores. However, the decision was made to stick with real eggs, a source familiar with the plans confirmed.

Community support from egg farmers

Wayne Skinner, a former director of the White House Visitors Office, noted that under President Joe Biden's administration, the Egg Board started a program where egg farmers donate one egg to a local food bank for every egg they contribute to the White House event.

Impact of the Trump tariff on egg prices

The bird flu outbreak, which began in February 2022, has affected 168 million birds across the U.S., leading to a shortage of hens and, consequently, higher egg prices. To address the ongoing supply shortage, the U.S. has increased egg imports from countries like Turkey, Brazil, and South Korea, Reuters reported.

However, new tariffs introduced by the Trump administration could complicate efforts to ease the egg shortage. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins raised concerns Thursday that these tariffs might impact imported eggs, potentially driving up prices again, just as they had started to fall from their record highs, though they remain higher than usual.

The average cost of a dozen large white eggs has dropped to around $3, compared to an all-time high of $8.64 on Mar. 5, according to the Agriculture Department.

The new tariffs could impose a 10% tax on eggs imported from Turkey and Brazil, while South Korea would face a 26% tariff.

Brian Moscogiuri, global trade strategist for egg supplier Eggs Unlimited, explained that imported eggs were shipped to the U.S., transported to processing facilities, and unloaded manually.

"There's more costs associated with the imports already, and now you add tariffs on top it," he said. "It makes everything more costly and makes imports that much less likely to have a major impact."

Industry experts, such as Greg Tyler, CEO of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, warned that if these tariffs were applied, manufacturers who imported eggs for food processing would either have to absorb the additional costs or pass them on to consumers.