The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is investigating whether the country’s largest egg companies are colluding to keep prices high as the avian flu outbreak grips the US.

The average price for a dozen eggs in the US has risen by more than 60% in the last year, mainly attributed to the bird flu outbreak that has affected more than 150 million birds since February 2022, leading to a supply shortage.

However, last month, the group Farm Action wrote to the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice urging them to investigate “dominant egg producers” who they say have “leveraged the crisis to raise prices.” Farm Action singled out Cal-Maine Foods as the main perpetrator.

According to reports first shared by the Capital Forum, the DoJ is now in the “very early stages” of investigating whether major egg companies, like Cal-Maine Foods and another dominant player in the market, Rose Acre Farms, are sharing information about supply and pricing, which have contributed to the price increases. 

We have contacted the DoJ for comment. 

DoJ investigation is welcome

A spokesperson for advocacy group Farm Action tells Food Ingredients First that it is “encouraged” by the news that the government is investigating the egg industry following its letter. 

“While we recently exposed new evidence about these egg companies, this is a fight we’ve been at for several years. We are glad to finally see our work paying off. We’d like to see dominant egg firms thoroughly investigated and held accountable for any antitrust violations. This could include the prosecution of industry executives and monetary restitution for the American people,” they say.  

The spokesperson adds that while egg firms are seeing record-breaking profits by hiking up prices for consumers, the contract farmers “who do all the work” are not seeing any of the increased profits. 

In 2023, Cal-Maine lost a separate federal case and was ordered to pay more than US$50 million for a price-fixing scheme. At the time, it denied the allegations. 

Cal-Maine Foods and Rose Acre Farms did not respond when asked for comment. 

In a statement shared by the American Egg Board with Food Ingredients First, the group says suggestions that egg price hikes are due to “anything other than bird flu” is “a misreading of the facts and the reality.”

“Make no mistake. Egg farmers are price takers, not price makers, on the egg market, and that market is responding to the uncertainty and chaos bird flu is causing,” says Emily Metz, president and CEO of the organization, which represents egg producers across the country.    

“Eggs are subject to the economic laws of supply and demand. The tight egg supply caused by avian influenza, coupled with 23 consecutive months of high sales volume, has created a perfect storm in egg markets.” 

Political hot potato

Rising egg prices have become a political flashpoint in the US. The National Chicken Council recently petitioned the government with a proposal to tackle the egg shortage by using “perfectly nutritious” discarded eggs. 

Lowering food prices “immediately” was also an issue US President Donald Trump campaigned feverishly on before being elected. He blamed the Biden administration for soaring prices. Despite the promise to slash prices “on day one” of his term, grocery costs in the country have continued to increase. 

Last month, 21 democratic lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, called on the government to share the specific details of how they planned to lower food prices for Americans. Surging egg prices were cited as an example of large companies making sizable profits at the expense of consumers. 

Trump appears to have now taken a different stance than his election pledge, with him sharing a link on his Truth Social platform earlier this week to a column titled, “Shut Up about Egg Prices ― Trump Is Saving Consumers Millions.”