Major egg producers settle price inflation probe for $3.3 million

The U.S. Department of Justice and 17 state attorneys general reached a $3.3 million settlement with three of the nation's largest egg producers for alleged price manipulation that "artificially increased" egg prices for consumers and retailers, the coalition said Monday. The egg producers — Cal-Maine Foods, Versova and Hickman's Egg Ranch — "illegally coordinated" over nearly three years to inflate a daily price index for eggs, the coalition alleged, citing the results of an investigation into egg-price collusion that began more than a year ago. The allegations of collusion come amid an affordability crunch among U.S. consumers and as inflation has risen at its fastest pace in more than three years. Egg prices became a poster child of sorts for high inflation in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. In February 2023, for example, average retail prices for a dozen large Grade A eggs had spiked 150% from a year earlier, the largest annual change on record, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the time, economists had pointed largely to a historic and deadly outbreak of bird flu, which killed millions of egg-laying chickens and crimped egg supply. In separate company statements, Cal-Maine and Versova denied wrongdoing and pointed to bird flu as the primary driver of higher egg prices, rather than their alleged collusion. Hickman's didn't respond to a request for comment. The Justice Department and multistate coalition alleged that Cal-Maine, Versova and Hickman's "secretly communicated" from approximately June 2022 to March 2025 to influence the daily egg price quotes published by Urner Barry, which has an egg-pricing benchmark "widely used in egg supply contracts," according to New York Attorney General Letitia James. New York was among the 17 states that were party to the lawsuit. The others were Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin. The proposed settlements, which must still be approved by a federal judge, would prevent Cal-Maine, Versova and Hickman's from engaging in "coordinated" egg price manipulation in the future via measures such as the adoption of antitrust compliance programs and the appointment of antitrust compliance officers, the Justice Department said Tuesday. "Food affordability is a top priority of the Antitrust Division," said Former Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. "These settlements resolve years of conduct that dragged on Americans' finances and their everyday lives. Cal-Maine said in a written statement that it denied it had engaged in any wrongdoing or violated the law. It also said it "continues to believe that such claims are baseless and that its conduct was lawful, appropriate and in the best interest of supplying eggs to the marketplace." In an e-mailed statement, Versova said its decision to accept the settlement "simply reflects our firm intention to put this matter behind us and focus on our business." Cal-Maine agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle the coalition's civil claims. Hickman's agreed to pay $1 million and Versova $800,000. The companies say they will also donate about 53 million eggs combined to food banks or related non-profits. Cal-Maine and Versova pointed to repeated outbreaks of bird flu in recent years as the primary reason for higher egg prices. "The period reviewed by the DOJ was a particularly challenging time," Sherman Miller, president and CEO of Cal-Maine Foods, said in a written statement. "Temporary supply shocks, including in connection with multiple outbreaks of avian influenza, the COVID-19 pandemic, weather and other market dynamics — compounded by high inflation at the time — caused egg prices to surge periodically over the past five years." Egg price quotes dropped "significantly" from their peak after the defendants learned of the Justice Department's investigation in March 2025, the DOJ said Tuesday. Versova also said most of its eggs are sold on "grain-based contracts," meaning the price its customers pay "fluctuates based on the costs of grain inputs for hen feed."