Lunar New Year boosts Korean egg prices
The price of eggs in South Korea, a near essential in holiday dishes, is skyrocketing ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
The price per egg was 159 won (9 €-cents or 11.7 $-cents based on ‘extra large eggs’ sold in Seoul) as of January 13.
This is an all-time high, according to the Korean Poultry Association and almost 60% higher than the 126 won (7 €c or 9.3 $c) posted during the same period last year.
Eggs as commodity
Eggs were included among the so-called ‘52 MB Daily Necessities’ in March last year, an index that was created under the special orders of President Lee Myung-bak to measure commodity prices.
The ‘extra large egg’ is the cheapest variety among eggs sold at major supermarkets. Other types such as organic eggs or native eggs are charged almost double the amount.
Egg prices had reached its all-time high in September 2004 when the first round of bird flu swept South Korea, which was later replaced by a new record of 147 won in March 2005.
The upward climb of egg prices in the second half of last year came because many layers were slaughtered due to the AI scare in April 2008. Also costs of feed had risen steeply due to the surge in the exchange rate.
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