News

Short egg supply in South Korea

Outbreaks of avian influenza in South Korea have caused a nearly 25 percent decline in that country’s egg production and an egg market reporter says that could present opportunities for US producers.

Brian Moscogiuri (moss-ka-jury) with Urner Barry says the shortage of eggs in South Korea is causing prices to increase significantly in that country.

“Internationally when there’s a shortage, it presents opportunities for countries that are net long, and the last eight months have been a real struggle for U.S. producers. We’ve seen some of the lowest prices here in the U.S. that we’ve seen in the last ten years,” says Moscogiuri.

He tells Brownfield this is also a chance for US egg exports to rebound.

“U.S. exports are very strong in 2013 and 2014 and since A.I. they’ve kind of struggled to rebound because some of the issues that Canada and Mexico faced creating that need have kind of subsided. And the international demand right now could be a boom for these guys here in the U.S.” says Moscogiuri

Moscogiuri says to put the South Korean outbreak into perspective, during the US outbreak more than 34 million layers were lost or approximately 11 percent of total production.

Analysts expect the egg shortage in South Korea to last at least a year – but could take longer depending on how long it takes to rebuild flocks.