Cal-Maine Foods cooperating in Justice Department price probe
Company accused of conspiring to raise egg prices
10 April 2025
1 minute read
By: The largest US egg producer, Cal-Maine Foods, is cooperating with a US Department of Justice investigation into high egg prices and whether producers have conspired to raise them, Reuters reported, citing the company on Tuesday.
The DOJ sent Cal-Maine a civil investigative demand last month, the Ridgeland, Mississippi-based company said in a regulatory filing, adding that the eventual scope, duration and outcome of the investigation could not be predicted at the time.
Abigail Slater, head of the DOJ's antitrust division, has said the division will prioritize enforcement against anticompetitive conduct in US consumer markets.
Egg prices have declined in recent weeks from record highs, though their wholesale cost is still up 60% from this time last year at $3 per dozen, according to USDA data.
Weaker demand and a lull in new cases of bird flu have helped cool prices, analysts said.
Industry experts said Friday that tariffs levied by the Trump administration could boost the price of imported eggs.
