SEOUL, March 14 (AJP) - South Korea has begun exporting eggs to the United States for the first time, as a severe shortage drives American consumers to pay record prices, sometimes exceeding $10 a dozen.
Gyerim Farm, an agricultural company based in Ansan, shipped 20 tons of eggs, or 335,160 individual eggs, to Georgia on March 7, marking a historic first in trade relations between the two countries, local officials said.
The United States, grappling with an egg shortage that has pushed prices to unprecedented levels, has been actively seeking international suppliers. According to Bloomberg News, American officials have reached out to poultry associations in Poland, France, Indonesia, and other nations to explore potential imports.
Consumer egg prices in the U.S. surged 53 percent year-over-year in January, with an additional 15 percent increase in the past month alone. The crisis has prompted restaurants to impose surcharges for dishes containing eggs and has contributed to broader inflation concerns.
During a recent congressional address, former President Donald Trump, who has pledged to lower food prices, attributed the price increases to the previous administration, stating that “former President Joe Biden made egg prices uncontrollable.”
Industry experts estimate that the U.S. needs to import between 70 million and 100 million eggs within the next one to two months to alleviate the shortage.
While South Korea has joined the ranks of new suppliers, other countries are also being courted. Indonesia has indicated it could export 1.6 million eggs monthly to the U.S., and Turkey plans to sell 15,000 tons by July, though it has introduced export taxes to manage domestic prices ahead of Ramadan.
However, the global nature of the shortage is evident. Europe, facing its own egg supply challenges due to avian influenza, has seen E.U. wholesale egg prices reach a two-year high.
“There is no available supply in France and almost none in Europe,” Thomas Bartillet, secretary general of the French egg industry group SNIPO, told Bloomberg News.
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