President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is investigating the recent surge in egg prices, raising concerns about possible price-fixing and anti-competitive behavior within the industry. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, this investigation comes as consumers face record-high costs for eggs, with some retailers reporting prices exceeding those from just a year ago. Egg producers will likely be scrutinized to determine the causes behind the price increase, including the bird flu outbreak, which has led to nationwide egg shortages.
The DOJ said last month that it would consider investing nearly $1 billion to address the high egg prices after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said they could rise by 41 percent this year. Egg price hikes are mainly due to a bird flu outbreak, which has culled 166 million birds since it began in 2022. The department also said it would allocate $500 million to poultry producers’ biosecurity measures to help ward off the bird flu impacting their flocks.
Cal-Maine Foods, which owns roughly 44 million egg-laying hens and is the largest eggshell producer in the U.S., will most likely be examined by the DOJ. Rose Acre Farms and Hillandale Farms will also reportedly be a part of the investigation.
In his address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump said that the price of eggs has gotten"out of control" and promised to work “hard to get it back down.” The Department of Agriculture said that egg prices would “continue to experience volatile month-to-month changes” in 2025 and are expected to rise 20.3 percent.
The average price for a dozen eggs in the U.S. is $5, while in some locations, prices can reach up to $10 per carton. In September 2023, the average cost of eggs was only $3. However, during former President Joe Biden’s last year in office, egg prices increased by about $2.80 per carton.
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