Egg prices in Korea have reached their highest levels in four years and are expected to remain strong for the time being. As of last month, the consumer price for a tray of 30 large eggs exceeded 7,000 won.

On June 8, the Korea Rural Economic Institute released its forecast for the three months through August, predicting that the farm price of eggs this month will be between 1,850 to 1,950 won for 10 large eggs, up about 12.4 to 18.5 percent from a year ago. This is also 9.9 to 15.8 percent higher than the average price for the same period over the past three years from 2020, excluding the highest and lowest prices.

The Korea Rural Economic Institute cited declining productivity due to aging laying hens and outbreaks of low-pathogenic avian influenza (AI) as key factors driving the price increase.

While prices are expected to dip slightly from July to August due to reduced seasonal demand, they are still forecast to remain 7 to 14 percent higher than a year ago during the same period.

The farm price of eggs remained similar to last year’s levels until this March, but began to rise significantly in April and May, up 10.2 percent and 12.2 percent year-on-year, respectively. The Korea Rural Economic Institute attributed the spike to outbreaks of highly pathogenic AI in Chungcheong provinces this March.

The Korea Egg Producers Association has raised the farm price of eggs by about 30 percent since March, increasing the per-egg price from 146 won to 190 won.

According to the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation, the average consumer price for a tray of 30 large eggs last month was 7,026 won, the first time it has exceeded 7,000 won since July 2021. This is 6 percent higher than a year ago and 4.2 percent higher than the average year.