DOJ investigates the main egg manufacturer in the middle of the soaring price: Source

The Department of Justice is in the early stages of investigating the main egg producers upon the soaring the price of eggs, the source who is familiar with the problem told ABC News.

Department investigators are looking for whether the main egg company shares information about supply and price, may contribute to price increases, the source said. Egg producers, including the Industrial Trade Association, said the soaring price was caused by bird flu.

Investigation out of the Antimonopoly Division of the Department of Justice and does not need to lead to any legal action.

Last month, a group of members of the Democratic Parliament, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., ask for administration To provide specifics about how it plans to reduce food prices for the family.

“To make food more affordable, you have to look at the dominant food and food companies that have made a record of profits behind the workers’ families who have to pay a higher price,” they wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump. “These companies often exploit crisis such as pandemic and bird flu outbreaks as an opportunity to raise prices outside of what is needed to bear the increase in costs.”

Egg prices have doubled since January 2024 – and skyrocketed for the past year. Wholesale buyers such as small businesses pay more than $ 8 for a dozen eggs last week. Latest agricultural department report Released on Friday The word wholesale price of an average national egg has dropped significantly to $ 6.85 per dozen.

Emily Metz, President and CEO of American Egg Board, who represented egg producers throughout the country, said that every suggestion that the price increase of eggs was caused by price fraud was “wrong reading facts and reality.”

“Make no mistake. Egg farmers are price takers, not price makers, in the egg market, and the market responds to uncertainty and chaos of bird flu caused,” he said. “Eggs are subject to the economic law of supply and demand. The supply of strict eggs caused by influenza poultry, coupled with 23 consecutive months -according to high sales volume, has created the perfect storm in the egg market.”

Farm Action, an agricultural advocacy organization that openly asked officials to open an antimonopoly case, said in a statement on Friday quoting sources at DOJ that the agency had begun investigation.

“We praise the actions of the Department of Justice to overcome the price of eggs that skyrocket,” he said. “Every American feels financial pain caused by the strength of the monopolistic egg industry.

“Although bird flu is real, it is not a reason for the price charged in a grocery store for one of the country’s staples,” he added. “While the analysis of agricultural action shows the possibility of abuse of antimonopoly by the dominant egg -producing company, DOJ has the legal authority to dive in depth to the industry needed to reach the basis of this harassment, and they have the power to bring justice on the name of the American people.”

The egg industry has been consolidated for decades, with Cal-Maine food emerged as the largest US egg producer and is one of the few public companies, after acquiring other brands. He has reported an increase in profits from an increase in egg prices, and his stock has increased by around 50% over the past 12 months. The next four largest egg producers are held personally, so that their financial data is not public.

Cal-Maine cannot be contacted to comment.

In 2023, Cal-Maine lost the jury and had to pay millions of pricing schemes.

“Egg producers and grocery stores can use the current bird flu outbreak as an opportunity to further limit supply or increase egg prices to increase profits,” Warren also wrote to Trump in January.

“The largest egg manufacturer in the country Cal-Maine reports a significant leap in the dirty profit between the first and second quarters of the 2025 fiscal year when climbing egg prices,” he added.

“Cal-Maine CEO acknowledged that net income that is estimated to be higher than the company for Q2 ‘reflects[s] The higher market price, which continues to rise this fiscal year is because the supply of shell eggs has been limited. “Translation: The Egg Company and its shareholders generate higher profits while Americans release more grocery food,” Warren wrote.

-ABC News’ Luke Barr contributes to this report.