Will Chicken Also Become as Expensive as Samgyeopsal?... Export Restrictions Begin Worldwide

Countries Begin Restricting Chicken Exports... Impact of Soaring Prices and Feed Supply Disruptions

On the 3rd of last month, a chicken meat sales counter at a large supermarket in downtown Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Due to the war triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, chicken prices are soaring worldwide. This is because disruptions in chicken feed supply and countries facing soaring inflation have started restricting chicken exports to pursue food security.

According to the UK's BBC, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), and others, chicken prices have risen sharply in many countries including the UK, Singapore, and the US, impacting both suppliers and consumers. Since Ukraine and Russia, major exporters of key feed ingredients such as corn and wheat, are at war, international feed supply itself has decreased, causing many poultry farms to go bankrupt or face bankruptcy. Additionally, outbreaks of avian influenza in the US, UK, and France last year and earlier this year have worsened supply. The Malaysian government banned chicken exports starting from the 1st of this month.

The chicken supply shortage in Malaysia has spread to neighboring countries such as Singapore. Singapore's chicken dining industry expects refrigerated chicken prices to rise by up to 30%, and Singaporean authorities have recommended substituting with other meats like frozen chicken. Malaysia and Singapore, where the Muslim population is high, have a large proportion of chicken in their total meat consumption. Especially Singapore, which imports over 90% of its food, relies on Malaysia for about one-third of its chicken consumption.

BBC reported that it will become increasingly difficult to find affordable chicken rice, a common local dish, in Singapore. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong emphasized, "Chicken is just the beginning. We must prepare for disruptions in other food imports as well."

The impact has also spread to Europe. Dan Simpson, who runs a chicken dish restaurant in Hertfordshire, UK, told the BBC that chicken prices have nearly doubled since the Russia-Ukraine war. Prices rose from ?30 (about 47,000 KRW) per box last year to ?50 (about 78,000 KRW). The UK, which had already experienced inflation due to Brexit (the withdrawal from the European Union), is now facing another round of inflation as feed, energy, and transportation costs have all increased due to the war. In South Korea, chicken prices jumped 16.1% in May.

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