[Anchor]

The upward trend in food prices continues. With rising costs of ingredients compounded by price hikes from food companies, the burden on consumers is growing.

Reporter Jung Jun-ho has the story.

[Reporter]

Kim Young-soon, who runs a gimbap shop, is struggling with the decision of whether to raise her prices.

As high-protein diets gain popularity, 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 of ingredients for the gimbap to taste good, so I’m just waiting to see if (egg prices) will come 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. The whole country is struggling.]

Consumers are shopping around to find even slightly cheaper prices.

At this large supermarket, a 30-egg tray was priced at 5,780 won for U.S. 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: Compared to other places, it’s much cheaper. When prices are at 11,900 or 11,800 won, it’s a heavy burden for ordinary people.]

Food companies are also raising prices one after another, citing logistics costs, raw material prices, and exchange rates that have soared due to the war.

Mega Coffee, known for its low-cost 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 products, including Chilsung Cider and Pepsi, by over 5% for the first time in two years.

The Bank of Korea stated that the shock from high oil prices and high exchange rates will likely spread to more items, projecting that consumer inflation will remain around 3% in the second half of the year.

Reported by Jung Jun-ho | Video by Shin Se-eun | VJ by Jeong Han-wook