Justice Department opens antitrust probe into egg price spike

Kim Chipman

Josh Sisco

Leah Nylen

Bloomberg

The US Justice Department has opened a preliminary probe into a recent surge in egg prices across the country, according to a person familiar with the investigation.&nbsp;<div class="paywall-selector"></div><div class="paywall">



The investigation, which is being conducted by the department’s civil antitrust enforcers, focuses on whether companies including <a href="https://fortune.com/company/cal-maine-foods/" target="_blank">Cal-Maine Foods</a> Inc. and Rose Acre Farms Inc. have colluded to boost prices or limit supply, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a confidential probe.



A dozen large eggs in the Midwest cost an average of $8.41 wholesale as of Feb. 28, a record high and an increase of more than 200% from a year earlier, according to the US Department of Agriculture.



The surge has hit consumers’ wallets and become a political talking point for President Donald Trump and his detractors amid the worst-ever bird flu outbreak in the US, leading to the death of more than 130 million birds since 2022. The spike in prices has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and industry watchdogs.



A representative for the Justice Department declined to comment. Its civil antitrust probe may end without any accusations of wrongdoing.



Representatives from <a href="https://fortune.com/company/cal-maine-foods/" target="_blank">Cal-Maine Foods</a> and Rose Acre Farms, the nation’s top egg producers, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.



The investigation started under the Trump administration and is in initial stages, according to the person.&nbsp;



Under former President Joe Biden, the DOJ investigated mergers in the egg market, the person said. During his administration the DOJ also increased Chicago-based staff for the antitrust division to boost the department’s focus on agriculture markets.



Farm Action, a group that began pushing Washington to look at egg prices three years ago, praised news of the Trump administration’s move.



“It does seem like more is going on than just the avian flu,” the group’s president,&nbsp;<a href="https://farmaction.us/our-team/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Angela Huffman</a>, said in an interview Friday.&nbsp;



On Thursday, Democratic US Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island told USDA Secretary Brooke <a href="https://fortune.com/company/rollins/" target="_blank">Rollins</a> he’s concerned the Trump administration isn’t doing enough to address the problem.



“Since President Trump took office, the price of a dozen eggs has nearly doubled, and the administration fired several employees working to combat avian flu,” Reed wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-cries-fowl-over-big-corporate-egg-producers-padding-profits-and-stock-buybacks-at-the-expense-of-consumers_taxpayers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">letter</a>&nbsp;to the USDA chief. “While the administration has since announced a new effort to rehire those employees and invest in solutions, it must do better to coordinate an effective response that actually results in lower prices for Americans.”&nbsp;



Capitol Forum earlier reported on the probe.</div>

The investigation focuses on whether companies including Cal-Maine Foods and Rose Acre Farms have colluded to boost prices or limit supply.

Did your workplace make our list of the World's Most Admired Companies?
<a href="https://fortune.com/ranking/worlds-most-admired-companies/?&itm_source=fortune&itm_medium=article_tout&itm_campaign=DecJanMag">Explore this year's list.</a>

F-Wire

Food and drink

Retail

Politics

Justice Department opens antitrust probe into egg price spike | Fortune

Retail Brew

Costco workers now officially make $31 an hour—and can expect raises for the next two years

/2025/03/11/costco-workers-make-31-an-hour-raises-for-next-two-years/

Prarthana Prakash

Unilever’s new CEO wants to make the Dove soap maker popular with influencers as a ‘machine of content creation’

/europe/2025/03/11/unilever-ceo-fernando-fernandez-dove-soap-maker-popular-influencers-machine-of-content-creation/

Ryan Hogg

A view on two airplanes of the AirFrance KLM Group, parked at the gate of Paris Charles de Gaulle international Airport. Roissy en France, Paris, Ile de France, France. KLM and Air France.

Europe’s airlines are plunging in value as Trump recession warnings threaten Americans’ ‘unbelievable’ spending power abroad

/europe/2025/03/11/europes-airlines-plunging-value-trump-recession-warnings-threaten-americans-unbelievable-spending-power-abroad/

Record earnings at Lego as CEO says Trump’s tariffs are ‘not what keeps me awake at night’

/europe/2025/03/11/lego-worlds-largest-toymaker-record-earnings-niels-christiansen/

Volkswagen hit hard by the shift to EVs, as profits plunge 30% and Chinese competition continues

/europe/2025/03/11/volkswagen-hit-hard-shift-to-evs-profits-plunge-chinese-competition-continues/

Christiaan Hetzner

President Trump Announces TSMC Investment

‘Trumpcession’ fears spike after Trump refuses to promise economic growth will continue

/2025/03/10/donald-trump-markets-trumpcession-economy-growth-tariffs/

Ani Freedman

This gastroenterologist says probiotics are 'a waste of money.' Here’s what you should be doing instead

https://fortune.com/well/article/probiotics-bloating-gut-health-fiber-diet/?itm_source=parsely-api

Sasha Rogelberg

Fired NIH workers fear bleak job prospects in the private sector because their research is too specific to be retrofitted: 'No VC is going to fund that'

https://fortune.com/2025/03/11/fired-nih-workers-bleak-jobs-private-sector/?itm_source=parsely-api

Phil Wahba

Here’s why the CEOs of major retailers like Walmart, Gap and Target are sounding so calm about Trump’s tariff standoff

https://fortune.com/2025/03/10/trump-tariffs-retail-ceos-react-soun-calm-walmart-gap-target-home-depot/?itm_source=parsely-api

Josh Hoffman

Kevin Katari

The California crisis in homeowners insurance has only one real solution

https://fortune.com/2025/03/10/california-homeowners-insurance-crisis/?itm_source=parsely-api

Nicholas Gordon

Tesla loses $127 billion in one-day market bloodbath as China car group questions Musk’s pursuit of ‘personal glory’

https://fortune.com/asia/2025/03/11/tesla-shares-drop-china-byd-ev/?itm_source=parsely-api

Eleanor Pringle

Heiress Lynsi Snyder became President of In-N-Out aged 27. She's been betrayed by colleagues but refuses to have 'emotional distance' with her team 

https://fortune.com/2025/03/10/heiress-lynsi-snyder-in-n-out-burgers-leadership-staff-relationships/?itm_source=parsely-api