Some two-thousand eggs arrived from the U.S. in South Korea on Thursday as a first step to ease the shortage in the country's egg supply due to the bird flu outbreak.
 
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said the eggs weighing 150 kilograms flew in on a cargo jet via Incheon International Airport.
 
The eggs will undergo some eight days of thorough inspections before they hit store shelves around next Friday.
 
Later on Saturday and Sunday, around six million more U.S. eggs will arrive. The eggs will be distributed throughout the market by three domestic retailers from around next Sunday.
 
The ministry estimates that the imported eggs will cost between 300 and 310 won each given that they are tax exempt. The government is also covering half of the import costs.
 
A ministry official said though the six million eggs will not be enough to resolve the supply issue, import firms are expected to bring in more eggs before and after the Lunar New Year holidays.