鸡蛋生产商就价格操纵指控达成联邦与州级和解

Egg producers reach federal and state settlement over allegations of price-fixing

June 30, 2026 / 2:30 PM EDT / CBS News

The Department of Justice and more than a dozen states have reached a proposed settlement with three of the country’s leading egg producers to resolve claims that the companies colluded to manipulate egg prices.

The agreement comes after an investigation by federal antitrust enforcers and state attorneys general alleged that Cal-Maine Food, Versova/Centrum and Hickman’s Egg Ranch coordinated to artificially inflate daily egg price quotations between June 2022 and March 2025, leading to higher prices for retailers and consumers.

The companies provide eggs to grocery stores, restaurants and retailers across the U.S., according to the Justice Department.

“We are proud that these settlements will keep egg prices competitive and keep money in the hands of consumers across the country,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Sarrine of the Justice Department’s antitrust division said in a statement on Tuesday.

As part of the agreement, the companies will be required to provide a combined 53 million eggs to food banks and community organizations in states party to the settlement and pay the states $3.3 million, according to a June 29 complaint filed by the Justice Department and states.

The complaint accuses Cal-Maine, Hickman’s and Versova of conspiring to submit bids to influence egg price quotations, creating the impression there was a greater demand than there actually was. The daily quotations from Urner Barry, a market reporting company, serve as a benchmark for the egg industry, shaping what retailers pay for eggs nationwide, according to the suit.

“Every year, billions of eggs are sold with prices based on Urner Barry’s price quotations,” the Justice Department said in its statement.

Cal-Maine, a Mississippi company that bills itself as the nation’s largest egg producer and distributor, denied any wrongdoing in a statement, calling the allegations “baseless.”

Iowa-based Versova said it is “pleased the U.S. Department of Justice investigation has been resolved without any finding of or admission of wrongdoing.”

Arizona-based Hickman’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Justice Department said the settlement, which must still be approved in court, will deter the companies from communicating with competitors to influence egg prices.

The cost of eggs has been a pain point for American shoppers in recent years. Prices hit record highs last year amid an avian flu outbreak that decimated the country’s poultry flocks. A carton of large Grade A eggs now sells for an average of $2.19, down from $6.23 in March 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

In its statement, Cal-Maine cited bird flu and the COVID-19 pandemic as the main drivers of volatility in egg prices. Versova also pointed to the bird flu and said it was not responsible for setting prices.

“Egg farmers in the United States don’t set the wholesale price of eggs, which are a commodity product,” Versova said in a statement. “At Versova, most of our eggs are sold on grain-based contracts, which means the price our customers pay fluctuates based on the costs of grain inputs for hen feed.”