Government Imports a Carton of Eggs at 12,000 Won and Sells at 3,000 Won... Losses in the Trillions of Won

Assemblyman Hong Moon-pyo "Bought for 150 billion won, sold for 47.6 billion won"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] Claims have emerged that the government’s failure to respond and lack of policy led to a surge in egg prices, resulting in losses amounting to hundreds of billions of won due to egg imports.

On the 28th, Hong Moon-pyo, a member of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, analyzed audit data submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The analysis confirmed that from January to the end of September this year, the government spent 150 billion won in budget to import a total of 38,538,000 eggs, which were resold for 47.6 billion won, resulting in a total loss of 102.3 billion won.

The imported eggs were brought in at an average price of over 12,000 won per carton (based on 30 eggs), including transportation and handling fees, and were sold through public bidding at fixed prices ranging from 4,450 won to the 3,000 won range, causing a loss of more than 7,000 won per carton. On a per-egg basis, the eggs were imported at an average price of 390 won and sold for between 100 and 148 won.

Previously, as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) spread and the culling of laying hens increased, causing egg prices to surge, the government decided to import duty-free eggs to expand supply. In particular, from November last year to early this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs expanded the culling radius from 500 meters to 3 kilometers, resulting in the culling of approximately 17 million laying hens, accounting for 24% of the total population.

Regarding this, Assemblyman Hong Moon-pyo stated, "The surge in egg prices is due to the indiscriminate culling under the Moon Jae-in administration," and criticized, "The massive budget waste from egg imports and the additional egg prices borne by the public will not be compensated by anyone."