U.S. egg imports climbed even higher in March as Turkey and Mexico scaled up their exports and Brazil and Honduras sent the U.S. eggs for the first time in this decade, according to Commerce Department data published Tuesday.

The U.S. imported more than $16.5 million eggs in March, almost a threefold increase on February volumes, which was itself a fivefold increase on the previous month.

In addition to Turkey and Mexico significantly increasing exports to the U.S. – in Turkey’s case by more than double – the U.S. received eggs from Honduras and Brazil. Honduras had not exported eggs to the United States since 2015, while Brazil sold eggs to the U.S. for the first time since Commerce began tracking data in its current format in 1992.

Wholesale U.S. egg prices fell dramatically from the end of February to the middle of March, from more than $8 per dozen to around $3, according to USDA data. They have risen slightly again in recent weeks but remain only a little above $3 per dozen.

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In an appearance before the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins touted the administration’s efforts to lower egg prices, which included bolstering imports as part of a five-pronged strategy to curb avian flu and slash egg prices.

“I’m proud to report that since that plan was introduced, the wholesale price of eggs has decreased 56%, with the retail price following,” she told senators.

Tuesday's release showed U.S. imports increasing across the board in March, with the goods and services trade deficit hitting a new high of $140.5 billion, according to a Commerce statement.

Driving the trade deficit growth was a more than 4% uptick in U.S. imports. The U.S. imported $419 billion in March, $17.8 billion higher than the previous month, as importers sought to bring products into the country before the Trump administration unveiled its April 2 tariffs – what the president had been referring to as “Liberation Day” in comments to the press throughout March.

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