To Stabilize Egg Prices... Government to Import 20 Million Additional Fresh Eggs from the US and Thailand

Additional 9 Million Hatching Eggs to Be Imported from Europe

Government Egg Discount Subsidy Raised from 1,000 to 1,500 Won

Tariff Quota Measures for Eggs and Chicken to Be Implemented

The government has decided to further import fresh eggs from countries such as the United States and Thailand and raise the subsidy for discounted sales from 1,000 won to 1,500 won in order to stabilize egg and chicken prices.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on May 28 that, due to the ongoing decrease in egg and chicken production and the resulting price increases caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza, it will import additional fresh eggs and hatching eggs to stabilize supply and ease the burden on consumers.

The Asia Business Daily DB

To begin with, in order to stabilize egg supply, the Ministry has imported 7.87 million fresh eggs from the United States and Thailand through the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) from January until now, and plans to import an additional 2.24 million fresh eggs by the end of June.

An official from the Ministry explained, "The number of laying hens has recovered to last year's level. However, due to a decrease in the number of laying hens over six months old that can actually lay eggs, as well as improvements in laying hen stocking density (from 0.05 to 0.075 square meters), the average daily egg production in June is projected to decrease by 3.6% year-on-year to 46.92 million eggs." In light of this forecast, as a supplementary measure, the Ministry plans to import an additional 20 million fresh eggs, which is about 36% of the anticipated shortfall for June and July.

To increase chicken supply, following the import of 8 million hatching eggs for broilers in March this year, the Ministry also plans to import an additional 9 million hatching eggs. In response to the culling of 437,000 parent stock due to highly pathogenic avian influenza and an expected drop in chicken supply caused by low pathogenic avian influenza, the Ministry will import another 9 million hatching eggs from Belgium and Spain by August, in addition to the 8 million already imported since March. The imported hatching eggs will be incubated for 21 days and then raised by domestic poultry farms for 33 days before being supplied to the market.

The Ministry is also considering expanding the tariff quota and extending the application period for processed egg products such as liquid eggs and whole eggs. Additionally, to further relieve the burden on consumers, the government will increase the subsidy for discounted sales of a 30-egg carton from 1,000 won to 1,500 won between May 28 and July 1. The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NongHyup) will implement a program to reduce the supply price of eggs delivered to Hanaro Mart by 2,000 won per carton through relevant poultry cooperatives.

For 30,000 tons of chicken meat intended for in-house processing, the government plans to apply a tariff quota from the end of this month. Through government-sponsored chicken discounts (from June 18 to July 1) and the use of the chicken industry fund for additional supply price reductions (in July and August), both large and small supermarkets will be supplied with chicken at prices reduced by at least 1,000 won per chicken.

An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated, "These measures to stabilize supply and curb price increases are expected to help ensure stable market supply and ease the burden on consumers during periods of projected instability. The Ministry will continue to closely monitor the situation and respond actively to further ease the burden on consumers and maintain a stable supply base for livestock products."

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