First Import of Fresh Eggs from Thailand... "Promoting Stability in Egg Supply Chain"

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Spreads in Major Importing Country, the U.S.
2.24 Million Eggs to Be Imported in Nine Shipments Starting from the 10th

The government will import fresh eggs from Thailand for the first time to prepare for the increased demand for eggs during the spring season.

Egg prices have risen by 11.5% compared to last year, with the average price of a carton of eggs exceeding 7,000 won, causing alarm for the "table price." The photo shows the egg display at a large supermarket in Seoul on June 10, 2025. Photo by a reporter

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) announced on the 7th that they would import fresh eggs from Thailand and supply them domestically. This is the first time that the government is leading the import of eggs from Thailand.

This import is a measure to compensate for the halt in imports due to the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) in the United States, which is a major egg importing country.

The quantity to be imported is 2.24 million eggs, which will be brought in by air in nine shipments from the 10th of this month until the end of the month.

The eggs to be supplied are brown, A-grade, large-sized eggs (over 60g) from Thailand, verified by the Department of Livestock Development (DLD) of Thailand. This size corresponds to the specialty eggs that are the most widely consumed standard in Korea.

Before the full-scale import, aT explained that it had conducted a pilot import of sample quantities to inspect safety and quality, and that all quarantine and hygiene standards of both the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety had been met.

aT plans to increase the proportion of sales through small and medium-sized supermarkets, unlike previous U.S. eggs that were mainly supplied to large distributors and food material companies. With this import, aT explained that imported eggs can be purchased at about 70% of the price of domestic eggs on the market.

According to the Livestock Products Quality Evaluation Institute, the average retail price of a carton (30 eggs) of specialty eggs has remained above 7,000 won since the 3rd of this month. This is about 10% higher than last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.