Egg Prices Skyrocket, Making Them Difficult to Find

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) is making it difficult to find eggs nationwide and causing prices to surge. The number of laying hens has significantly decreased due to AI outbreaks continuing from winter into spring, resulting in a situation where it's hard to secure enough eggs at stores or wholesale markets. Indeed, approximately 14% of laying hens were culled due to AI from last winter through this spring, leading to a sharp drop in egg production.

One egg wholesaler has less than a fifth of its usual stock remaining, and some vendors are buying eggs from other regions at inflated prices. This egg shortage has pushed the average consumer price for a carton of large eggs to 7,273 won, with egg prices rising over 10% in the past three months. There are even instances of people willing to pay a premium to secure eggs. Local egg wholesalers are facing increased difficulty in securing supply as merchants from other regions directly visit farms, offering higher prices to obtain quantities.

The government had projected that the laying hen population would recover to the previous year's level starting this month. However, it now appears that a normalization of egg production will not occur until after July. Supply shortages and price increases are expected to continue for the time being.