Consumers heading to supermarkets to buy a carton of eggs are increasingly finding empty shelves. Where regular eggs once sat, only organic products priced well above 10,000 won remain.
According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT)'s food industry statistics, the national average retail price for a 30-count carton of domestic premium eggs stood at 7,378 won as of June 30. Seoul averaged 6,982 won and Gyeonggi 7,605 won, while South Chungcheong recorded the highest at 8,005 won.
Although the statistical average hovers in the 7,000-won range, consumers feel prices are higher. Discounted volumes and regular eggs sell out first, leaving only premium options such as antibiotic-free and organic eggs on the shelves.
For dual-income households unable to visit supermarkets early in the morning, the statistical figures feel disconnected from reality. Some Emart Traders stores have posted notices limiting purchases of fresh eggs to one carton per customer.
The root cause of the price surge is shrinking supply. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI), 11.34 million laying hens were culled last winter due to highly pathogenic avian influenza. This represents about 14 percent of the country's total laying hen population.
As a result, average daily egg production last month fell to 45.79 million, down 3.6 percent from a year earlier. Rebuilding the laying hen population requires raising chicks for more than six months, meaning the supply gap will persist for some time.
Summer poses additional risks. Chickens are vulnerable to heat, and rising temperatures reduce both feed intake and egg-laying rates. There are also concerns about the spread of seasonal viral respiratory diseases. During last August's heatwave, consumer egg prices climbed to the 7,400-won range, a level recent prices are already approaching.
The government is pursuing both imports and discount support to stabilize prices. The Ministry of Agriculture has imported 7.87 million fresh eggs from the United States and Thailand from January through the present, with plans to bring in an additional 2.24 million this month. By next month, the ministry aims to import 20 million more fresh eggs to cover about 36 percent of the June-July shortfall.
A 1,500-won discount per 30-count carton, offered in partnership with major supermarket chains, will continue through July 1. Nonghyup is also pursuing supply-price reductions of 2,000 won per carton on eggs delivered to Hanaro Mart by the Korea Poultry Farmers Cooperative, the Daejeon-Chungnam Poultry Farmers Cooperative, and the Pocheon Livestock Cooperative.
Retailers are also expanding sales of imported eggs. Homeplus has been selling a 30-count carton of fresh U.S. eggs for 5,990 won since June 18, and Lotte Super is offering U.S. eggs at the same price. Emart is preparing to introduce eggs from Thailand.
However, the industry largely views imported eggs as a short-term buffer rather than a fundamental solution. Import volumes are limited relative to the size of the domestic market, and there are also constraints in terms of freshness and consumer preference.
The government expects daily production to return to year-earlier levels after July as chick placement and production recovery progress. Industry observers, however, say price strength will be unavoidable until the laying hen base fully recovers.
