"Buying a Tray of Eggs for 44,000 Won"... High-Cost Imports Criticized at Parliamentary Audit

[Anchor]

The government's importation of Brazilian eggs at 44,000 won per tray to stabilize egg prices came under fire during the parliamentary audit. The responsible state corporation explained that it was a trial introduction and that only a small quantity was imported.

Reporter Chae Heesun has the story.

[Reporter]

The import cost for Brazilian eggs was 1,464 won per piece, coming out to 43,923 won for a tray of 30.

Using government funds, they were supplied to domestic distributors at around 4,300 won per tray, about one-tenth of the import cost.

During the parliamentary audit of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), criticisms were raised regarding these high-cost imports.

[Kim Yong-tae / Member, National Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries (People Power Party): Even if it is a pilot project, I think it is terribly wrong to bring in eggs that cost 1,464 won each and distribute them domestically at one-tenth of the price.]

With U.S. eggs priced at 456 won per piece and Thai eggs at 498 won, the import unit price for Brazilian eggs was three times higher than those from the other two countries.

Criticism was also raised that the imports were pushed through recklessly.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs sent an official document to aT in March instructing them to import Brazilian eggs so they could be distributed during the Easter season. aT issued a bidding notice, but it fell through as there were no eligible companies.

Brazilian eggs were not imported until July, after the relevant procedures were completed.

[Kim Chang-guk / Acting President of aT: (Imports) require export farms to be registered with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, but they had not been registered yet.]

[Kim Yong-tae / Member, National Assembly Committee on Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries (People Power Party): Naturally. Because it was pushed forward hastily and recklessly, the bidding had no choice but to fall through.]

In response, aT explained that the imports from Denmark and Brazil, alongside the U.S. and Thailand, were part of efforts to diversify import sources, adding that only a small quantity was brought in in line with a pilot introduction.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated that the import value of Brazilian eggs was 1.6 billion won, accounting for about 0.8% of the total volume.

Suspicions were also raised during the parliamentary audit over whether the import of Brazilian eggs was related to South Korea-Brazil summit diplomacy, but aT denied any connection.

Previously, President Lee Jae-myung ordered a strict response to the dissemination of false information regarding the import of Brazilian eggs.

(Video by Lee Jae-young | Video Editing by Kim Jong-mi | Graphics by Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.