Finnish authorities have refused to approve the supply of chicken eggs to the US, which is facing a shortage of the product, citing bureaucratic difficulties, local broadcaster Yle reported.
“When there are no agreed rules, it is not easy to start exporting,“ Veera Lehtila, executive director of the Finnish Poultry Farmers' Association, told the broadcaster.
Even if Finland could start exporting, it would not be of much benefit to the US. "We had to kill millions of birds because of bird flu. There are a total of 4 million laying hens in Finland. The amount we could take will not solve the egg shortage“, she added.
Earlier, Reuters reported that the US Department of Agriculture, amid a shortage of chicken eggs in the country, has turned to producers in Denmark and a number of other European countries in an attempt to find sources for additional imports of this product. As the agency notes, the requests from the US Department of Agriculture come against the backdrop of a trade war between Washington and Brussels and Trump's threats to take control of Greenland, which is part of Denmark as an autonomous territory.
The US is facing a shortage of chicken eggs and a rise in their prices (over 50% compared to the previous year) due to bird flu. President Donald Trump promised voters that he would solve the problem of high egg prices on his first day in office, the agency writes.