An employee stocks eggs at a large discount store in Seoul. Yonhap
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has imposed corrective orders and a fine of 594 million won on the Korea Poultry Association for colluding on farm-gate egg prices, the regulator announced Friday. The FTC concluded that the association restricted price competition among member farms and drove up egg prices.
According to the FTC, the Korea Poultry Association set weekly farm-gate reference prices for eggs by weight category — including extra-jumbo, jumbo, and large — through regional special committees from January 2023 to January 2026. During this period, the production cost of 30 raw eggs, including feed costs, fell from 4,060 won in 2023 to around 3,856 won this year. Despite this decline, the association raised the reference price for eggs in the Seoul metropolitan area by 9.4%, from 4,841 won to 5,296 won over the same period. In effect, reference prices rose even as production costs remained flat or declined.
Member farms of the Korea Poultry Association account for approximately 56.4% of Korea’s total laying hen population. Farms affiliated with the association set their actual transaction prices at levels similar to the reference prices announced by the association. As a result, the average net profit of laying hen farms reached 377.5 million won in 2024 — roughly 3 to 10 times higher than that of broiler or pig farms. The FTC believes this pricing structure led to higher wholesale and retail prices, increasing the burden on consumers. Consumer prices for a carton of 30 eggs rose 4.6%, from an average of 6,491 won in 2023 to 6,792 won this year.
The FTC found that, given the association’s substantial market influence, the mere act of communicating reference prices produced anti-competitive effects. It judged the collusion a serious violation and applied a fine rate of 55% to the association’s budget of approximately 800 million won. The commission then added a 50% surcharge, reflecting the fact that the violations continued for more than three years, and granted a 10% reduction for cooperation with the investigation, resulting in a final fine of 594 million won.
“It is itself a violation of the law for a trade association to influence price decisions,” said Moon Jae-ho, director general of the FTC’s Cartel Investigation Bureau. “Since the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is verifying the appropriateness of farm-gate prices through measures such as establishing an egg price review committee, we will consult with them to stabilize egg prices.”