Egg Prices Are Soaring. Bird Flu May Not Be the Only Culprit.

The calls, texts, and emails begin pouring in before 6 a.m. from restaurants, bakeries, and other businesses urgently searching for eggs.https://svtoday.org/2025/02/25/avian-flus-impact-on-u-s-egg-prices/

Brian Moscogiuri is an egg broker. As vice president of the wholesale company Eggs Unlimited, he spends his days in his home office in Toms River, N.J., managing the phone lines, working tirelessly to connect buyers with farms that have eggs available.

However, since avian influenza triggered egg shortages and sky-high wholesale prices — averaging over $8 a dozen, up from $2.25 last fall — Moscogiuri finds that his role has shifted from matchmaker to counselor. “The buyers are struggling,” he says. “They’re facing prices that are three to four times higher than usual.”

Egg producers, especially smaller, family-owned farms, are also feeling the pressure. If one of their hens tests positive for the H5N1 virus causing avian flu, their entire flock would need to be destroyed to prevent further spread. “You could wake up and find your whole business wiped out,” Moscogiuri explains.

Yet, amidst the chaos, there is at least one beneficiary: the largest egg producer in the U.S.

Cal-Maine Foods, which controls about 20% of the egg market and supplies major retailers like Walmart, saw its revenues surge to $954 million in the quarter ending in late November, up from $523 million the previous year — an 82% increase. The company attributed these gains to higher prices and an increase in the total number of eggs sold.

Its net income skyrocketed more than 500%, reaching $218 million, driven by higher prices, reduced feed costs, and acquisitions of other producers. Prices have continued to rise since the company’s last financial report.

Over the past three decades, the egg production industry has consolidated, with Cal-Maine acquiring more than 20 companies since 1989. Today, it and four other large producers control nearly half of the U.S. egg market. These companies, many privately held, do not disclose their financial data. Rose Acre Farms, the second-largest producer, operates 17 facilities across the South and Midwest. Daybreak Foods supplies eggs to McDonald’s, while Hillandale Farms sells both branded and private-label eggs at grocery stores. (None of these companies responded to interview requests.)

The bird flu that struck the U.S. in 2022 has affected or killed 162 million birds, reducing the egg-laying population. Cal-Maine alone reported outbreaks at two of its farms in the past two years, leading to the loss of 2.6 million chickens and young hens.

But as consumers face empty shelves and prices rise above $10 per dozen in some areas, the concentration of egg production in fewer hands is raising concerns, fueled by past incidents. Two years ago, major producers were found guilty of price manipulation in the 2000s. Now, some lawmakers are calling for federal investigations into the industry.

“Egg producers and grocery stores might be exploiting the current avian flu outbreak to further restrict supply or hike up prices for bigger profits,” a group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, wrote in a letter to President Trump last month.

Political Pressures

Since bird flu’s impact on egg prices became clear, eggs have become a political issue. During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump blamed the Biden administration for inflation and promised to lower food prices. Now, Democrats are asking why the Trump administration isn’t doing more to address soaring egg prices.

“Donald Trump promised to lower food prices on ‘Day 1,’” Warren stated. “Working families need relief now.”

On February 16, Alvaro M. Bedoya, a Democratic commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), publicly urged Andrew Ferguson, Trump’s new FTC head, to investigate the egg industry’s practices.

“I’m not sure what’s happening in the egg industry, but it certainly seems like we should investigate and see if there’s any anti-competitive behavior hurting consumers,” Bedoya said in an interview.

Under the Biden administration, similar calls were made for FTC action, but no antitrust investigation into egg producers was announced. Bedoya noted that the agency’s resources were focused on other cases, including scrutiny of the grocery industry.

“That capacity has opened up,” he said, referring to the conclusion of the FTC’s case against the merger of Kroger and Albertsons, which ended with a court order blocking the merger.

Critics also argue that the egg industry deserves further examination. In a February 12 letter to the FTC and Justice Department, the group Farm Action, which opposes corporate monopolies in agriculture, urged the agencies to investigate potential monopolization and anti-competitive practices in the industry.

“There’s smoke that suggests a fire beneath it,” said Basel Musharbash, principal attorney at Antimonopoly Counsel. “The power is there to restrict supply, and it seems the FTC or DOJ should look into whether that power is being used.”

Farm Action argues that while the loss of egg-laying chickens has been relatively small in comparison to the U.S. flock, producers’ profit margins have surged. In the last four months, 15% of the nation’s egg-laying chickens have been culled, while wholesale egg prices have risen by 255%.

However, pricing dynamics are complicated. Jada Thompson, an agricultural economics professor at the University of Arkansas, explains: “If 15% of the eggs are out of the system, prices should rise by 15%. But if I’m a baker and need eggs, I’ll outbid others to secure the supply.”

The egg industry maintains that the bird flu has devastated farmers who’ve lost chickens. At the same time, demand for eggs has consistently increased for 23 months in a row.

“Supply shortages and high demand are driving the recent spike in wholesale prices,” said Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board. “The volatility reflects many factors outside the control of farmers.”

The FTC declined to comment on whether an investigation was underway. A spokesperson for the Justice Department confirmed that it had received Farm Action’s letter but declined further comment.

Price-Fixing Case

The egg industry has faced legal challenges over pricing practices before. In 2011, food giants like Kraft and General Mills sued major egg producers, accusing them of colluding to reduce supply and inflate prices.

The complaint referenced a 2001 document from leading egg producers to the United Egg Producers trade group, which suggested reducing egg supply to achieve higher prices.

Subsequent efforts included a mandate for all members to follow flock reduction guidelines, a move some producers believed was aimed at limiting supply and boosting prices.

In 2023, a jury found that egg producers had unlawfully inflated prices, and the companies were ordered to pay $53 million in damages, triple the original $17.7 million. Cal-Maine said it was assessing its options for an appeal.

Neither Cal-Maine nor United Egg Producers responded to requests for comment.

In 2020, the New York Attorney General accused Hillandale Farms of price-gouging during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The case was settled when the company agreed to donate one million eggs to food banks. Similarly, the Texas Attorney General accused Cal-Maine of raising egg prices by 300% in 2020, and that case remains open.