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Recently, the price has risen so much that you have to pay 8,000 won to buy a pack of eggs at a supermarket.

Concerns about highly pathogenic avian influenza, which is spreading at a rapid pace, are driving up prices as companies stock up on stocks.



This is Reporter Lee Hye-mi.



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This is the egg section of a large supermarket.



The cheapest one is about 7,000 won for a plate of 30, and all others are over 8,000 won.



A housewife with three children hesitates and picks up the cheapest egg.



[Ryu Jeong-seon/Consumer: I think I'm worried about whether to put it in the shopping cart or not.

I can't even look at anything else.]



The wholesale price, which was 5,400 won per game a month ago, has risen by more than 400 won and is heading toward 6,000 won.



This is because feed prices continue to rise due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the recently spreading highly pathogenic avian influenza, AI.



In particular, this year, highly pathogenic AI occurred 22 days earlier than last year, and infections continued in areas where AI did not occur in the past, widening the range.



Farms in AI outbreak areas are in an emergency.



[Laying hen farm officials: It is difficult to take out manure.

The farm will stop, if the manure removal continues to fail.

The belt won't turn in cage (concentrated breeding) farms like this.]



There is no major problem with egg supply and demand itself yet, but if farm operations stop due to the spread of AI, egg prices could jump more sharply than they do now.



Concerned about soaring prices, the government set out to come up with countermeasures.



[Park Jeong-hoon/Director of Defense Policy, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: We are cracking down on the act of obtaining unfair profits such as egg stocking by distributors...

.]



The government announced that if the supply and demand situation worsens, it will review a plan to directly import and supply fresh eggs like last year.



(Video coverage: Jeil · Mincheol Kim, Video editing: Sangmin Lee, VJ: Sanghyuk Kim, CG: Sangsoo Ryu · Jeongeun Kim)