Measuring the social benefit of an egg processing center in Korea

Abstract

In 2018, 647 thousand tons of eggs were produced and consumed. However, the issue of pesticides used for egg in 2017 made Korean consumers worry about the food safety of eggs, and the volume of egg consumption decreased. The Korean egg industry also has another problem due to an unclear and inefficient marketing structure at the farm level. This marketing situation of eggs at the farm level in Korea needs a large-scale restructuring of the market structure, including introducing an EPC (egg processing center). Especially, the introduction of an EPC has been discussed by government officers and specialists, but the social benefit of an EPC, which will be the driving point for approving an EPC, has not been measured yet. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of introducing an EPC in Korea. Through an analysis using EDM (equilibrium displacement model), a few findings are presented. First, the introduction of an EPC may increase the transparency of price discovery and decrease the transaction cost. And thus, it results in a higher producer price, lower consumer price, and larger quantity at market equilibrium. Second, an EPC will improve the level of food safety of eggs, which can increase the satisfaction of domestic producers and consumers. Third, the introduction of an EPC may create new consumption of eggs. Based on these three effects, the new social benefits in monetary terms from the introduction of an EPC in Korea could be 23.9 - 35.2 billion won.