Import costs top 20,000 won per 30-egg tray with air freight; retail price subsidized to 5,000–6,000 won

Workers at an egg-processing facility in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, prepare imported Thai fresh eggs for domestic retail distribution on June 16. [Yonhap]
Workers at an egg-processing facility in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, prepare imported Thai fresh eggs for domestic retail distribution on June 16. [Yonhap]

The government plans to spend 121.2 billion won ($78.4 million) importing a total of about 231.39 million fresh eggs through August to stabilize domestic egg prices.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the government will spend 21.5 billion won importing about 31.39 million fresh eggs from the United States, Thailand and Brazil between January and early next month, then an additional 99.7 billion won to import about 200 million more eggs from next month through August.

In all, more than 120 billion won in public funds will be committed to egg imports over just eight months this year.

The cost of imported fresh eggs is not determined solely by overseas prices. Additional expenses arise from cold-chain logistics to maintain freshness, transportation, customs and quarantine clearance, repackaging, and domestic distribution.

Air freight is the single largest cost driver. When eggs must be rushed into the country to stabilize prices, air transport is used — a mode several times more expensive than maritime shipping.

Based on reporting from the laying-hen industry and government sources, the total landed cost of imported eggs — including air freight and repackaging — can reach as high as 20,000 won per tray of 30.

To bring retail prices down, the government subsidizes part of the transport and repackaging costs with public funds, covering the gap between the import cost and the selling price so that a 30-egg tray can be sold in the market for 5,000 to 6,000 won — well below cost.

The laying-hen industry argues that the current spike in egg prices stems from a regulation requiring farmers to expand the floor space per adult hen from 0.05 square meters to 0.075 square meters.

The industry says the rule, which takes full effect in September 2027, will cut the domestic flock by more than 33 percent, creating a daily shortfall of at least 12 million eggs against consumption of about 50 million.

The production cycle from chick placement to culling takes about 19 months. The industry contends that current egg prices already reflect the advance effects of facility upgrades and flock reductions prompted by the regulation's announcement.

The Korea Laying Hen Farmers Association criticized the situation as contradictory. "Government regulations have caused domestic output to fall and prices to rise, and the resulting shortage is now being filled with foreign eggs produced in conditions far more cramped than what is required here," the association said.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs maintains that the immediate cause of the price surge is the culling of about 11.34 million laying hens — 13.7 percent of the total flock — following a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak last winter.

The ministry also pushed back on the industry's characterization of the space regulation, saying it was introduced in 2018 as a necessary step toward improved egg hygiene and animal-welfare farming, and that many farms have already completed the required facility upgrades with broad recognition of the policy's importance.

To help farmers make the transition, the government has provided about 357.4 billion won in loans and interest-rate subsidies from 2024 through this year to ease the adjustment.

The ministry also said facility costs account for only a minor share of egg production expenses. According to the Ministry of Statistics, feed costs make up the largest portion at 56.9 percent, followed by chick costs at 20.3 percent, labor at 4.4 percent and facility costs at just 1.5 percent.


dingdong@heraldcorp.com