"Egg Prices Expected to Stabilize in Second Half with Increased Production, but Consumers Still Feel the Pinch"

[Economy 365]

While forecasts suggest that egg prices will gradually stabilize in the second half of the year due to increased production, consumers still feel that prices remain at a high level.

Entering the third quarter of this year, the average price of a carton of 30 eggs is 7,385 won, which is 6.5% more expensive than the same period last year and 9.7% higher than the usual average.

This is attributed to a decrease in egg production during the first half of the year, following the culling of 11.34 million laying hens due to highly pathogenic avian influenza last winter.

However, the number of laying hens raised is expected to increase in the second half, leading to a recovery in production.

By the end of this month, laying hens aged 6 months or older that are capable of laying eggs are expected to reach 57.84 million, a 1.2% increase from a year ago, with daily average egg production also projected to rise by 1% to 49.31 million.

Accordingly, farm-gate egg prices are expected to drop by around 30 won in late this month, and production is forecasted to remain higher than last year through the end of the year.

In preparation for increased demand ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the government plans to additionally import approximately 10 million fresh eggs every week until before Chuseok.

The total number of fresh eggs imported so far this year stands at about 108 million.

However, experts explain that once discount events at large supermarkets end, consumer prices may still feel persistently high.

*This article was produced with AI audio.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.