Justice Department Reaches Settlement With Egg Producers To End ‘Unlawful Coordinated Manipulation’

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with three large egg producers to end what it says is the “unlawful coordinated manipulation of egg prices.”Egg prices soared in President Biden’s term, which was blamed on an outbreak of bird flu and lingering supply chain issues after the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2023, the average price for a dozen eggs was $4.82. Prices rose again last year, and in April 2025, the average price for a dozen eggs was $5.12. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, blamed the Biden Administration for the resurgent prices, as she claimed it ordered farmers to kill 100 million chickens due to the bird flu — though decisions about whether to report outbreaks to the USDA are left up to farmers. In a statement on Tuesday, the Justice Department said that it filed a civil lawsuit against Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman’s Egg Ranch, Centrum Valley Holdings LLC, Versova Holdings LLC, and Versova Management Cooperative over the alleged coordinated manipulation of egg prices between June 2022 and March 2025. The Justice Department says that it also reached a settlement to resolve the lawsuit and end the alleged price manipulation.In a statement, the associate attorney general, Stanley Woodward, said, “No product more quintessentially represents affordability than the price Americans pay for eggs.”“These actions prove this Department’s continued commitment to protecting competition and providing real relief for everyday Americans’ pocketbooks,” Mr. Woodward added.A bipartisan coalition of 17 attorneys general joined the lawsuit. New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, said in a statement that the egg producers “secretly communicated with each other to coordinate their bidding activity” and drive up the egg price quotes in a benchmark price service, Urner Barry.” Ms. James said that in December 2022, the CEO of Hickman’s emailed Versova and Cal-Maine executives and urged them to submit “strong bids, early and often,” which she said led Urner Barry to increase price quotes. The Justice Department says that egg price quotations “dropped significantly from their peak” after the egg producers learned of the investigation in March 2025. The company that owns Hickman’s, Mantiqueira USA, said in a statement that the alleged coordination occurred before it acquired the egg producer and that it is “committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations and to conducting business with the highest standards of integrity.” Cal-Maine said in a statement that it believes the allegations are “baseless” and its actions were “lawful, appropriate, and in the best interest of supplying eggs to the marketplace.” Meanwhile, Versova said that it accepted the settlement so it could “put this matter behind us and focus on our business.”If the settlement with the egg producers is approved by a court, it would prevent them from communicating about bidding strategies and prices. Cal-Maine would pay $1.5 million, Hickman’s would pay $1 million, and Versova would pay $800,000 to settle the civil claims. The companies also agreed to donate 53 million eggs to food banks and other non-profit organizations.

Justice Department Reaches Settlement With Egg Producers To End ‘Unlawful Coordinated Manipulation’

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