The Netherlands has been given the green light to export 420,000 kilos of powdered egg to the US, the economic affairs ministry confirmed on Monday.

It is the first time the Netherlands has been licenced to export egg products to the US since 2002. The US has been hit by a bird flu epidemic and some 40 million laying hens have been killed because of the outbreak – between 10% and 15% of the total American flock.

The egg powder will be derived from 100 million eggs, the Dutch economic affairs ministry said. That is equivalent to around 1% of the total Dutch egg production on an annual basis.

According to USNews.com, five egg processors in the Netherlands will begin selling to US companies as soon as export certificate language details can be worked out.

The United Nations says Dutch farm exports grew to a record €95.9bn last year. This makes the Netherlands the second biggest exporter of agricultural products, behind the US and ahead of Germany, Brazil and France.