50,000 Tons of Eggs from the US, Spain, and New Zealand Released... Duty-Free Imports in the First Half of the Year

On the 25th, as the price of eggs soared due to the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI), officials were moving U.S.-origin eggs at the Asiana Airlines cargo terminal at Incheon International Airport. On this day, Asiana Airlines transported about 20 tons of U.S. eggs via the Chicago-Incheon route in response to the government's urgent request to alleviate the shortage of domestic egg supply caused by the AI outbreak. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, as egg prices soared due to the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI), the government has taken measures to stabilize prices through duty-free imports.

On the 26th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that at the Cabinet meeting, it approved a revision to the tariff quota regulations to reduce the tariff rates applied to egg imports from the basic 8-30% to 0% until June 30. This is the first time since January 2017, four years ago, that tariffs on eggs have been exempted.

Accordingly, a total of 50,000 tons of eight egg-related items, including fresh eggs, smoked eggs, egg yolk powder, frozen egg yolk, whole egg powder, frozen whole egg, egg white powder, and frozen egg white, can be imported duty-free until the first half of this year. Considering the domestic supply situation due to the spread of highly pathogenic AI, the government plans to import 14,500 tons of fresh eggs and 35,500 tons of processed egg products. On the previous day, about 20 tons of U.S. eggs were imported via the Chicago-Incheon route.

Through this measure, the government plans to import eggs from countries such as New Zealand, Spain, the United States, and Thailand, which have low risk of AI spread and meet domestic standards for hygiene and other criteria.

Due to the recent spread of AI, as of the 25th, the total number of culled laying hens is approximately 11 million, and the consumer price of eggs has risen about 26% compared to the average year.

An official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance stated, "This tariff quota measure is an implementation action of the 'Lunar New Year Livelihood Measures' announced on the 20th to respond to the shortage of egg supply and price increases caused by AI," adding, "It will be applied until June 30 this year, and the extension will be reviewed considering future market supply and demand trends." The official further added, "With the removal of tariff burdens on imported eggs and processed egg products through this measure, domestic supply capacity will expand, contributing to price stabilization during the Lunar New Year holiday and improvement in livestock product supply stability."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.