Maurie Backman
Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 4:00 AM 5 min read
It's hardly a concealed that Americans person been paying a premium for eggs these past fewer months. But portion consumers are struggling to spend this market staple, 1 ovum institution is allegedly profiting large time.
Cal-Maine Foods — which calls itself "the largest shaper and distributor of caller ammunition eggs successful the United States" — precocious reported a nett income of $508.5 cardinal for its astir caller fiscal quarter.
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Now, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly investigating Cal-Maine successful bid to find whether the institution is blameworthy of terms fixing.
Straight Arrow News reports the institution enjoyed a astir 250% summation successful profits from a twelvemonth prior, and that Cal-Maine attributes its profits to an 80% emergence successful the outgo of eggs.
Sherman Miller, president and CEO of Cal-Maine Foods, told Business Wire, "The full Cal-Maine Foods squad did an outstanding occupation successful maximizing accumulation done a play of precocious demand, portion operating safely and maintaining diligence connected biosecurity measures.
"We were fortunate to person the quality to utilize our existing operational standard and to payment from caller acquisitions, which helped summation our accumulation capableness successful this challenging proviso environment."
In March of 2025, ovum prices successful America reached a grounds precocious of $6.23 per dozen, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given that eggs are a staple successful galore households, consumers had nary prime but to wage up.
But now, the DOJ is wondering whether thing shady was happening connected Cal-Maine’s part. The company, on with others, is being investigated aft being accused by advocacy groups of terms fixing.
Price fixing occurs erstwhile competing companies participate into an statement to support prices intentionally precocious to boost their profits. Companies thin to person an easier clip mounting prices precocious erstwhile there’s a shortage of a fixed commodity.
Cal-Maine claims that it made large advancement successful addressing the country's ovum shortage this past 4th by expanding its magnitude of furniture hens by 14% and investing successful information measures to combat the avian flu, per Straight Arrow News. The institution has besides since dropped its ovum prices and says it’s cooperating with the DOJ investigation.