South Korean eggs arrive in US to combat rising prices

The United States is importing South Korean eggs to ease an avian flu-fuelled supply crunch that has pushed up prices across the country.

US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters in Washington that imports from South Korea – and Turkey – had already begun and that the White House was also in talks with other countries about temporarily importing their eggs.

“We are talking in the hundreds of millions of eggs for the short term,” she added on Friday.

The cost of eggs has skyrocketed due to multiple bird flu outbreaks in the US, forcing farmers to cull at least 30 million birds and sharply constraining supply.

Egg prices became a rallying point for US President Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election campaign as he sought to capitalise on voters’ frustrations with the rising cost of essential items during his predecessor Joe Biden’s presidency.

After returning to office in January, Trump tasked Rollins with the job of boosting the supply of eggs, and bringing down prices.