South Korea imports eggs from Brazil for first time as government diversifies supply sources

Brazilian fresh eggs imported into South Korea for the first time. [Provided by aT]

South Korea has imported fresh eggs from Brazil for the first time, as the government moves to secure additional supply sources beyond the United States and Thailand in response to ongoing disruptions caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (aT) said the Brazilian eggs cleared domestic quarantine and food safety inspections and will begin customs processing Monday.

This marks the first time Brazilian fresh eggs have entered the South Korean market. The government has been working to identify new import sources and reduce its heavy reliance on the US as part of broader efforts to stabilize egg supply and diversify the supply chain.

The eggs being introduced are Grade A white eggs certified by Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply, meeting the "Extra L" specification — equivalent in size to the XL grade most widely consumed in South Korea.

Brazilian fresh eggs being sorted before their first shipment to South Korea. [Provided by aT]

The government concluded quarantine negotiations with Brazil, established import sanitary requirements and registered overseas processing facilities. aT supported domestic importers by surveying local output, prices and logistics conditions through its São Paulo office.

The Korea Rural Economic Institute projected that average daily domestic egg production will gradually recover — from about 49 million eggs this month to about 49.52 million in August and about 50 million in September. The government plans to diversify import sources during the recovery period to minimize supply disruptions.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and aT said they will continue expanding fresh egg imports to cover North America, Latin America and Southeast Asia, ensuring stable supplies even if domestic laying-hen production falls due to future avian influenza outbreaks.

Lee Jae-wook, aT's director of supply management, said the corporation would "continuously identify new importing countries to build a stable egg supply system," adding that fresh egg imports would be pursued "in a balanced way, taking comprehensive account of domestic poultry farms and overall egg supply conditions."

adastra@heraldcorp.com