[Edaily Reporter Han Jeon-jin ] "With a carton of eggs now in the 5,000-won range, there’s no reason not to buy them."

10:00 a.m. on the 25th at the E-MART Co., Ltd.(139480) Yongsan branch in Seoul. Customers had lined up in front of the store even before it opened. It was an “opening rush” line of people eager to be the first to buy discounted items. As soon as the doors opened, most customers headed straight for the egg section. No sooner had the eggs been stocked than customers began comparing the price tags of domestic and U.S.-produced eggs. That day, E-MART Co., Ltd. sold domestic “Imatran” premium eggs (30-pack) for 6,284 won and U.S.-produced fresh eggs (30-pack) for 5,780 won, each limited to one pack per person. Since supplies tend to run out by lunchtime, shoppers hurried to fill their shopping carts.

◇Soaring Egg Prices… Even U.S.-Produced Eggs Find Their Way into Shopping Carts
Ms. Ko, a housewife in her 60s who said she hurried out of the house at 9 a.m., was one of them. “I came to buy domestic eggs in the 6,000-won range, but when I saw that affordable U.S. eggs had also arrived, I grabbed them right away,” she said. “Last time, they were sold out, so I couldn’t buy any, but I’m lucky I came today. If they keep selling them for around 5,000 won per tray, I won’t have to worry about egg prices in the future,” she said. She placed one tray each of domestic “Imatran” eggs and U.S.-produced eggs into her cart.

The surge in egg prices is driving the demand for U.S.-produced eggs. According to Livestock Distribution Information on that day, the highest retail price for premium eggs (30-pack) as of the previous day was 8,529 won—11% higher than a year ago (7,682 won) and 21% higher than the annual average (7,030 won). Even after the government began releasing U.S.-produced fresh eggs on the 20th, the highest price has remained in the 8,500-won range for five consecutive days. At some offline retail channels, such as supermarkets and grocery stores, the price of a 30-egg carton of premium eggs has risen to around 10,000 won. Compared to last year’s price in the 8,000-won range, this represents an even greater financial burden.

Ms. Park, a housewife in her 50s, also picked up a carton of fresh U.S.-produced eggs. “Even though it’s just my husband and me, we eat eggs every morning, so a carton runs out quickly,” she said. “These days, even a difference of 1,000 to 2,000 won feels significant.” She continued, “At first, I was a bit wary because they’re from the U.S., but if they’re sold at a major supermarket, they must have passed inspections, right?” She added, “With a price difference this big, I’m thinking of trying them once, and if they’re good, I’ll buy them again.”

Of course, there are also those who are hesitant to buy U.S.-produced eggs. Ms. Lee, a housewife living in Yongsan-gu, felt some hesitation but still put domestic “Imatran” eggs in her shopping cart instead of the U.S. ones. “Since they’re from the U.S., I’m a little worried about the freshness,” she said. “Still, since domestic eggs are still in the 6,000-won range, I thought it would be better to pay a little more for them.” She continued, “If domestic eggs had gone up even more than they are now or had been sold out, I would have bought the U.S. ones,” adding, “Right now, the price burden is too high, so I don’t have many options.”

◇“Prices Won’t Stabilize Until October”…Major Supermarkets Make All-Out Efforts to Secure Supplies
In fact, egg prices are not expected to stabilize easily for the time being. The aftermath of last winter’s avian influenza (AI) outbreak—which led to the culling of 11.34 million laying hens and a subsequent decline in production at the source—still lingers. Furthermore, daily egg production in June fell to 47.05 million eggs, a 3.3% decrease from a year ago. While the supply-demand situation is expected to improve somewhat in July when school vacations begin—as some eggs intended for food preparation are redirected to the retail market—a return to normal levels is not anticipated until around October. Furthermore, if the heatwave persists, laying rates will drop, potentially delaying price stabilization even further.

Major supermarkets are taking steps to secure supply and stabilize prices. E-MART Co., Ltd. sold 20,000 cartons of U.S.-produced eggs for 5,880 won on the 20th, selling out that same afternoon, and sold an additional 9,000 cartons today. The company plans to offer 18,000 cartons on the 27th as well. The company plans to continue selling U.S. eggs as long as the government supply lasts and is also considering importing eggs from Thailand. However, expanding supply is not easy due to tight supply from production areas.

Lotte Mart has also begun managing egg supply and demand by prioritizing direct transactions with partner farms nationwide. To diversify supply risks, the company has increased its purchases of graded eggs and animal-welfare eggs by 10% compared to average years, and will sell 18,000 cartons of fresh U.S.-produced eggs at 106 stores nationwide through this week. Until the 1st of next month, the company is also holding a promotion to ease the burden on shoppers, offering “Happy Fresh Eggs” (premium grade, 30-count) to L.Point members for 6,392 won, limited to one tray per person.

An official from the hypermarket industry stated, “With supply from production areas decreasing due to highly pathogenic avian influenza and consumer demand rising, strong prices seem inevitable for the time being,” adding, “We expect prices to gradually stabilize starting in the second half of the year once laying hen production recovers after July.” The official continued, “However, if the prolonged heatwave persists, there remains the risk of a decline in laying rates, so we plan to continuously monitor supply and demand at the production sites as well as market prices.”