Missouri House Members Issue Letter to USDA Secretary on National Egg Shortage

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of Missouri's Congressional delegation today issued a letter U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding the current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and its devastating effects rippling through numerous industries. In the letter, Missouri Congressmen Emanuel Cleaver, Sam Graves, Vicky Hartzler, Billy Long, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jason Smith, and Ann Wagner ask Secretary Vilsack to protect consumers, and "encourage you to do everything within your power to help the American poultry industry recover from the current devastation, work to prevent another major event next fall, continue to monitor the consumer egg prices, and support efforts to eliminate any unnecessary barriers that would exacerbate the situation."

Below is a copy of that letter.

LETTER TEXT:

June 17, 2015

The Honorable Tom Vilsack
Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

We appreciate the USDA's continued attention to finding a solution to the recent challenges raised by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). HPAI has taken an incredible toll on the nation's poultry industry resulting in the depopulation of nearly 36.9 million turkeys, egg-laying hens and other poultry since December. Missouri has seen four cases in four separate counties throughout the state, and we appreciate the cooperation between the USDA and state and local officials to assist our farmers in depopulating the infected barns and mitigating negative effects.

The negative impacts of HPAI have not been limited to producers. Consumers, retailers and others who rely on our nation's egg supply are beginning to feel the pinch from higher egg prices resulting from the loss of an estimated 8 percent of U.S. egg-laying hens. We are concerned that the recent increase in egg prices will continue to skyrocket in the short term, and Missouri families will continue to see a rapid spike in the price they pay for eggs at their local grocery stores. For instance, from late April to late May the price for a carton of eggs jumped from $1.19 per dozen eggs to $2.03. Food manufacturers have seen breaker eggs increase in price from $0.63 per dozen to $1.83 over the same time period. Furthermore, analysts estimate that consumers could ultimately pay an additional $8 billion due to the damage caused to our nation's egg supply.

While the United States has not historically been a nation that imports eggs in large quantities, the international egg market represents one option to lessen the current consumer harm. We applaud your recent efforts to increase egg imports by re-establishing inspection equivalency with the Netherlands as they proved their systems meet the high U.S. food safety standards. Where possible, we ask that you continue to work to ensure that costs stay reasonable. Such action on a provisional basis will alleviate pressure on the marketplace from higher egg prices.

We must make sure that family food staples like eggs and poultry are accessible to middle-income families that are already stretching their budgets. Ultimately, we encourage you to do everything within your power to help the American poultry industry recover from the current devastation, work to prevent another major event next fall, continue to monitor the consumer egg prices, and support efforts to eliminate any unnecessary barriers that would exacerbate the situation. We appreciate any relief that you can provide our constituents and local businesses.

Sincerely,

Emanuel Cleaver
Sam Graves
Vicky Hartzler
Billy Long
Blaine Luetkemeyer
Jason Smith
Ann Wagner

###