According to a report by Global Reuters on January 4, South Korea’s recent outbreak of bird flu, in order to control the epidemic, accounted for about 12.2% of the country’s total poultry and about 20 million chickens were culled, most of which were Laying hens caused a shortage of Korean eggs.

Wen Hongnan is a pastry chef at a cake shop in Seoul, South Korea. He needs at least 15,000 eggs a day for baking cakes. But after the worst outbreak of bird flu in South Korea and the surge in egg prices, the pastry chef is now considering replacing the menu.

“The amount of eggs we store can help us through Christmas,” said Wen Hongnan. “But if (bird flu) lasts until January, we will inevitably have to raise prices and make some cakes that do not require eggs. ."

According to reports, in order to control the bird flu epidemic, about 20 million chickens have been culled in South Korea, accounting for 12.2% of the total number of poultry. Most of the culled chickens are layer chickens.

According to data from South Korea's State-owned Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Trading Company, since the outbreak of bird flu in South Korea on November 18, the average retail price per 30 eggs has risen by nearly 25% to KRW 6,781 (approximately RMB 39), which is 3%. The highest level in the year was the highest in the decade.

The rise in egg prices has forced Koreans to tighten their belts. Koreans usually consume more eggs in the winter, including bread and korean rice rolls.

According to the report, Li Shangxie, a 55-year-old South Korean restaurant owner, also felt the pressure from the supply of eggs. He said that he had reduced the amount of steamed eggs provided for the spicy stewing of tuna. "If there are not enough eggs, then I can only stop supplying them. There is no other choice," said Li Shangxie, adding that this was the first time he had opened the restaurant for a limited time.

In addition to the increase in egg prices, some stores are also limiting the purchase of eggs.

“We are now restricting the purchase of up to one box of eggs per customer, as the current supply of eggs is in short supply and is expected to continue for five to six months, so our egg purchase order will continue for some time.” A South Korean supermarket chain South Korea Li Yuanyi, manager of the Agricultural Association, said.

According to reports, in order to alleviate the shortage of eggs, the Korean Ministry of Agriculture is seeking to import laying hens and eggs from the United States, Spain and New Zealand.

Analysts said that the shortage of eggs is expected to last for at least one year, because the poultry industry needs up to two years to recover chickens.

"If 30% of South Korea's poultry are infected, the economic loss caused by (bird flu) is estimated to reach 1.4 trillion won." Zheng Zheng, an analyst at the Institute of Modern Investigations in South Korea, said.

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