"I'll Pay 1,000 Won More": Consumers Scramble for Eggs Amid Price Hikes

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Food prices have been on a steady rise recently. With the cost of ingredients like eggs increasing, coupled with price hikes for budget coffee and beverages, the burden on consumers is growing.

Reporter Jung Jun-ho has the story.

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Kim Young-soon, who runs a gimbap shop, is struggling with whether she should raise her prices.

As high-protein diets become popular, many of her menu items use eggs instead of rice, but the price of eggs has surged recently.

[Kim Young-soon/Gimbap Shop Owner: I have to use a consistent amount in the gimbap to keep it tasting good, so I’m just waiting to see if (egg prices) will go down.]

The national average retail price for 10 large eggs is 5,284 won, a staggering 43% increase compared to the same month last year.

As supply shortages persist in the wake of highly pathogenic avian influenza, wholesalers are competing to secure eggs by offering premiums.

[Egg Wholesaler in Daegu: If someone comes from Seoul and says, 'I'll pay 1,000 won more per tray,' we send them there. It’s become difficult for Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province as well. It’s difficult for the entire country.]

Consumers are going out of their way to find cheaper options.

At this large supermarket, a 30-egg tray was priced at 5,780 won for U.S. imported eggs and 6,284 won for domestic eggs, and they were completely sold out within four hours of opening.

[Son Jeong-im/Mapo-gu, Seoul: It’s much cheaper compared to other places. Prices like 11,900 or 11,800 won are a heavy burden for ordinary people.]

Food companies are also raising prices one after another, citing rising logistics costs, ingredient prices, and exchange rates driven by global conflicts.

Mega Coffee, known for its budget coffee, has raised the prices of three menu items by 200 won each, and Ediya has increased the price of its stick coffee by up to 15%.

[Hwang Se-hee/University Student: Honestly, even 200 won adds up over a month, so it’s a bit sad for a college student.]

Lotte Chilsung Beverage has decided to raise the factory prices of 44 items, including Chilsung Cider and Pepsi, by over 5% for the first time in two years.

The Bank of Korea warned that the impact of high oil prices and a strong exchange rate will spread to more items, projecting that consumer inflation will remain around 3% in the second half of the year.

(Video Editing: Shin Se-eun, VJ: Jung Han-wook)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.