The average consumer price for a 30-egg tray has topped 7,000 won. That is because nearly 10 million laying hens have been culled over the past five months due to the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The government also expects egg production this month to decrease from a year earlier. There are concerns that the price uptrend could continue for the time being.
According to item-by-item prices from the livestock distribution information of the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation on the 13th, the average consumer price for a tray of extra-large eggs was 7,045 won as of the previous day, up 16.6% from a year earlier. It is the first time in a month and a half that the price of a tray of eggs has exceeded 7,000 won. It hovered in the 7,000-won range at the end of last year, then stayed in the 6,000-won range early this year. The average consumer price for 10 eggs was 3,902 won, up 21.1% from a year earlier.
The rise in egg prices is due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has been spreading since Oct. last year. As of the 11th, the number of culled laying hens reached 9.76 million. That is more than double the figure a year earlier (4.83 million).
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it imported 2.24 million fresh eggs from the United States in January and will bring in an additional 4.71 million between March and April. It also plans to prepare institutional improvement measures to stabilize livestock product prices by the end of May.