Government Denies Spending 80 Billion Won on Brazilian Egg Imports

The South Korean government has refuted claims that it spent 80 billion won on importing Brazilian eggs, stating that the actual cost is approximately 1.6 billion won. Brazilian eggs represent only 0.8% of the total import volume.

Park Jeong-hoon, head of the Food Policy Office at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, appeared on the Blue House's YouTube program 'Fact Factory' on October 15, where he explained, "This year, we imported about 130 million eggs from four countries: the United States, Thailand, Brazil, and Denmark. The 80 billion won figure includes all costs from import to supermarket supply."

He clarified that 1.12 million eggs were imported from Brazil at a cost of 1.6 billion won, emphasizing that the notion of spending 80 billion won solely on Brazilian egg imports is a misunderstanding.

However, Park acknowledged that the unit price of Brazilian eggs is higher than that of U.S. eggs. He responded to concerns that the price for a 30-egg carton from Brazil is 43,923 won, admitting, "It is true that it is relatively higher than the U.S. price, as it includes air freight and tariffs, and the distance from Brazil increases transportation costs."

The government cited the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) as the reason for the need to import eggs. Park noted, "Last winter, we had to cull about 11 million birds due to AI, and it takes 6 to 9 months to bring in chicks and start egg production again, making imports necessary to address the temporary supply shortage."

Regarding the decision to import Brazilian eggs, he stated it was part of a strategy to diversify supply sources. With the spread of AI in the U.S., securing sufficient quantities became challenging, and relying solely on the U.S. posed significant risks to supply stability.

Park mentioned that while they considered about ten countries for imports, Thailand, Brazil, and Denmark were viable options based on quantity and potential suppliers. He noted that Brazil had sufficient supply and its location in the Southern Hemisphere helps mitigate seasonal AI risks.

He explained the choice of air transport over shipping, stating, "The legal shelf life of fresh eggs is 45 days, but shipping takes over 50 days. Since they would need to be discarded upon arrival, air transport is unavoidable due to physical and regulatory constraints."

Additionally, Park outlined long-term measures to stabilize egg prices, including support for modernizing farm facilities, scaling operations, automation, feed cost assistance, disease management, and distribution management.