Moon Administration Imported Eggs Without Supply Review During 'Egg Crisis'... Ultimately Disposed of 20 Million Eggs

Board of Audit and Inspection Releases Report on 'Regular Audit of Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation'
Additional Egg Imports Despite 2021 Supply Stabilization... 21.25 Million Eggs Disposed
Operations Without Considering Actual Crop Conditions... 27.3 Billion KRW Worth of Cabbage and Radish Disposed

The Moon Jae-in administration decided to import domestic eggs without properly reviewing the production and supply volume, resulting in the disposal of over 20 million eggs. It was also revealed that a total of 30,000 tons of cabbage, radish, and onions, which had been stockpiled for three years using agricultural forecast production volumes regardless of actual crop results, were discarded.

On the 31st, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) released a report titled 'Regular Audit of Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation.' This audit was conducted following repeated criticisms from the National Assembly and others that the corporation failed to play an appropriate role during sharp increases in agricultural product prices.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The BAI confirmed that agricultural products were purchased without considering actual crop conditions and that government stockpiling projects were operated contrary to manuals. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation used agricultural forecast production volumes (data from three months prior to supply shortage periods) instead of actual crop results (published monthly) when deciding purchase volumes to stabilize supply and demand. This led to the disposal of agricultural products worth a total of 27.3 billion KRW, including cabbage, radish, and onions stockpiled over the past three years.

Furthermore, contrary to the 'Supply and Demand Adjustment Manual' for responding to the 'Price Surge Crisis Warning' over the past three years, cabbage and radish stockpiles were not released in 3 out of 10 warning instances, and chili peppers, garlic, and onions were not imported in quantities eligible for low tariff application during the warning stages.

During the past 'egg crisis,' appropriate responses also failed. In July 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs decided to import an additional 150 million eggs from overseas despite knowing that the domestic egg supply was stabilizing. At that time, domestic egg supply had been unstable due to avian influenza in 2020 but recovered to normal levels with an increase in the number of laying hens, stabilizing consumer prices.

The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation reported to the Ministry that eggs nearing expiration might be discarded due to poor sales, but the Ministry did not revise or cancel the import plan. As a result, 21.25 million imported eggs were discarded because they exceeded their expiration dates.

Additionally, cases were confirmed where businesses under suspension or disguised companies contracted to supply school meal ingredients. It was revealed that companies suspended from using the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation's 'Electronic Procurement System for School Meal Ingredients (Meal System)' had signed contracts worth a total of 10.2 billion KRW over the past five years. During this period, contracts worth 230 million KRW were detected from suspended companies through the Meal System.

There were also cases where disguised companies were used during suspension periods to sign contracts worth a total of 560 million KRW. The Meal System is a public procurement system for food ingredients used by 9,407 out of 11,976 elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide (78.5%), as well as 1,123 institutions including kindergartens and daycare centers.

Accordingly, the BAI notified the president of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation to establish measures to align supplier information with that of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, activate the disguised company reporting center, inspect and sanction companies reported as disguised, and strictly enforce sanctions within the Meal System. The BAI also notified the Minister of Food and Drug Safety to take administrative actions against companies that signed contracts to supply food ingredients through the Meal System during suspension periods.

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