S.Korea resumes egg imports in 13 months due to soaring prices

As egg prices soared due to the spread of bird flu or avian influenza, the South Korean government resumed imports of eggs to ease price pressure.

It is the first time in 13 months that the government imported eggs since Dec. 2021 when avian flu struck the nation's egg-laying hen population.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on Tuesday that 1.2 million fresh eggs from Spain will arrive in Korea sequentially from the same day, which will be supplied to large discount stores and supermarkets from Jan. 15.

The imported amount is 2.7% of Korea's daily egg production of about 45 million.

According to the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation (KAPE), the national average consumer price of a tray of 30 eggs was 6,622 won ($5.3) as of Jan. 9. 

It is slightly lower than the May-July period last year when it rose to 7,100 won, but it is more than 20% higher than the average price of 5,500 won for the last five years.

Egg prices have started rising since January 2021 due to the spread of bird flu and feed price hikes in the wake of supply chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, highly pathogenic bird flu struck 21 egg farms nationwide from October last year to Jan. 10, and 2.7 million, or 3% of laying hens were buried. That led to a drop of 2 million eggs in production from 45 million to 43 million.

The ministry plans to also import US eggs if necessary depending on the degree of the spread of AI and the supply situation of eggs.

Write to Jung-hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com