JERUSALEM (JTA) — A ship carrying millions of eggs arrived in Israel’s Ashdod port on Sunday in an effort to alleviate the country’s coronavirus-induced egg shortage just days before the Passover holiday.
The country’s estimated shortage of about 30 million eggs means that Israelis’ typical Passover diets could be hard to sustain. Demand for eggs typically goes up about 20% ahead of the weeklong holiday, when bread and other products are eliminated from observant Jews’ diets.
The current shortage stems from a combination of panic buying as well as difficulty in bringing imports during the current coronavirus crisis, Israel’s Channel 12 reported. The country has faced an egg shortage for at least the last two weeks.
The ship carrying the eggs from Spain skipped some ports in order to get them to Israel before the holiday, according to the report. A dedicated crew was waiting at the port to enable the eggs to immediately be transported directly to supermarket chains across the country. A second shipment is expected Tuesday, and more eggs are set to arrive by plane.
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