Shocked by Egg Prices? 'Special Measures' Begin Today with Imports of White Eggs

To stabilize soaring egg prices, fresh eggs imported from countries including the United States and Thailand will be distributed nationwide starting today, June 20.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced plans to supply approximately 21.12 million fresh eggs from the U.S. and Thailand to the market by next month.

Starting today, which is the weekend, 1.12 million U.S. fresh eggs will be supplied sequentially, with over 4 million eggs to be sold each week.

These imported fresh eggs will first be supplied to large retailers nationwide, such as E-mart and Lotte Mart, and will subsequently be provided to self-employed business owners who operate local bakeries and supermarkets through small and medium-sized distributors.

The U.S. imported eggs being released to large supermarkets are characterized by their white shells, unlike domestic eggs. They will be sold for approximately 5,900 won per tray of 30, which is about 1,500 won cheaper than the domestic average.

Since January of this year, the government has already released over 10 million eggs nationwide through the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, including 6.74 million from the U.S. and 3.37 million from Thailand.

However, as the burden on household budgets has increased due to price hikes caused by a decline in egg production, the government decided to expand the import and supply of fresh eggs.

The upward trend in prices continues as egg production has decreased in the aftermath of the highly pathogenic avian influenza that occurred last winter.

The average retail price for 30 premium eggs was 7,419 won in the middle of last month and 7,516 won in late last month. The upward trend has continued, with prices recorded at 7,483 won in the first ten days of this month and 7,506 won in the middle of this month.

As of the middle of this month, prices are 9.3% higher than the average year and 7.1% higher than last year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is also considering plans to further expand the volume of fresh egg imports to proactively respond to the possibility of supply instability caused by summer heatwaves.

The Ministry explained, "While we expect egg production to increase after next month as the number of laying hens recovers, it will take some time for the effects of production recovery to translate into actual market supply and price stabilization."

Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.