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Re:

Egg Prices and Producer Profits: The 2023 Price-Gouging Accusation and 2026 Antitrust Case

Farm Action’s 2023 accusation was not a legal finding. A 2026 DOJ complaint later alleged coordinated bids affecting a wholesale egg-price benchmark, against a backdrop of bird-flu supply losses and sharply higher prices.
From TheFinanceBase Team4 min to read
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Egg prices and producer profits drew a price-gouging accusation in 2023, but that accusation was not a legal finding. In a separate development, the Justice Department and 17 states filed a civil antitrust complaint in 2026 alleging that three egg producers coordinated bids to influence a wholesale-price benchmark. The allegations, bird-flu-related supply losses and the later settlements are distinct parts of the story—not interchangeable proof of why every shopper paid more.

Were egg producers price-gouging?

In 2023, advocacy group Farm Action asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate high egg prices, accusing dominant producers of taking advantage of inflation and avian-influenza conditions. That was an advocacy allegation, not a court ruling or a finding by the FTC.

A February 16, 2023 letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren to Cal-Maine cited the company’s reported gross-profit increase of more than 600% in the comparable 2022 quarter relative to the same quarter in 2021. The letter quoted Cal-Maine describing the result as “driven by record average conventional egg selling price.” A sharp increase in one company’s gross profit over a particular period can prompt scrutiny, but it does not by itself establish unlawful conduct or explain every retail price change. Warren’s letter also noted that Cal-Maine reported no positive avian-flu cases on its farms at that time; that was a historical statement, not a claim about later periods. Read Warren’s February 16, 2023 letter.

Why did egg prices get so high?

Egg prices reflect both supply conditions and market pricing. Bird flu led to fewer laying hens, while the 2026 antitrust complaint separately alleges conduct that affected a wholesale benchmark. Neither factor should be treated as a complete explanation on its own.

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The Congressional Research Service reported that the U.S. had 5.3% fewer table-egg-laying hens in 2024 than in 2021. Its inflation-adjusted comparison put the average price at $1.97 per dozen in 2021 and $3.23 per dozen in 2024, both in 2024 dollars. CRS also reported that USDA expected table-egg production in 2025 to decline 1.3% from 2024; that was a forecast, not a later verified outcome. See the Congressional Research Service analysis.

As another dated snapshot, USDA’s September 2025 outlook reported 713,500 cases of large eggs in inventory on September 1, 2025, 8.2% more than a year earlier. These inventory figures describe that date; they are not a current supply or price update. Read USDA’s September 2025 outlook.

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A bipartisan Senate release said the average retail price of a dozen eggs exceeded $6 in March 2025—three times the 2021 level. That figure describes a historical price peak, not the price on October 8, 2026. Read the senators’ March 2025 release.

What did the Justice Department accuse egg companies of doing?

On June 30, 2026, the Justice Department announced a civil antitrust complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa against Cal-Maine, Hickman’s and Versova. DOJ and 17 states alleged that the companies coordinated bids from June 2022 through March 2025 to influence Urner Barry’s daily egg price quotations. These are allegations in a government complaint, not a finding of liability stated in the announcement. Read the Justice Department announcement.

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How the alleged benchmark mechanism worked

Urner Barry publishes daily egg quotations used as a benchmark in many supply contracts. DOJ says the companies sold eggs to grocery stores, restaurants and other businesses, and also bid in spot markets. According to the complaint summary, those bids were among the information considered in setting the daily quotations. The government alleges the companies coordinated the number and timing of bids, submitted bids at prices unlikely to produce trades, and made premium trades to affect the benchmark. If the benchmark rises, contracts tied to it can transmit higher wholesale costs to buyers and, potentially, consumers. See DOJ’s description of the complaint.

The alleged conduct concerns wholesale benchmark formation; it is not the same thing as the 2023 accusation about producer profits or a direct finding that any one retailer’s shelf price was fixed.

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What happened in 2026: proposed federal settlements and a state settlement

The federal and state actions have different legal status. DOJ described the federal settlements as proposed and said the measures would prevent the alleged conduct if approved by the court. Colorado separately announced a multistate state settlement.

Action What the announcement says Status described in the cited announcement
Federal DOJ case Proposed settlements would restrict specified competitor communications and bidding agreements, require antitrust compliance programs and officers, and require reporting of potential violations. Source: DOJ, June 30, 2026. Proposed; DOJ said the measures would apply if approved by the court. The cited announcement does not establish final court approval.
Colorado-led state settlement Colorado reported that the settlement secured 53 million eggs and $3.3 million, and required coordination bans, compliance measures and state oversight. Source: Colorado Attorney General, June 30, 2026. Announced as a state settlement; distinct from the proposed federal judgments.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said, “This deliberate corporate manipulation of egg prices for profit is illegal and immoral and we’re putting a stop to it.” That is the attorney general’s characterization in the state announcement, not a substitute for the separate status of the federal court case. DOJ Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Sarrine said the department was proud the proposed settlements would “keep egg prices competitive and keep money in the hands of consumers across the country.” Read Colorado’s settlement announcement.

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What the allegations and figures do—and do not—show

  • 2023: Farm Action made an advocacy accusation, and Warren’s letter cited a company-reported profit increase. Neither item is itself a legal finding.
  • 2025: Egg prices reached a reported peak while CRS documented fewer laying hens and higher inflation-adjusted prices than in 2021. These facts establish supply and price context, not the cause of every price movement.
  • 2026: DOJ and the states alleged coordinated bidding affecting a wholesale benchmark; the federal settlements were described as proposed, while Colorado announced a separate state settlement.

The cited announcements do not establish final court approval of the federal proposed judgments or a verified retail egg price for October 8, 2026. The latest price figure described here is the senators’ March 2025 report, so it should not be presented as today’s price.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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