US Egg Producers Settle Antitrust Price-Fixing Case

The U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of 17 state attorneys general filed a civil antitrust lawsuit accusing Cal‑Maine Foods, Versova Holdings, and Hickman’s Egg Ranch of coordinating, from June 2022 through March 2025, to inflate the daily price quotations published by market‑reporter Urner Barry. The alleged scheme raised wholesale egg prices, which peaked at about $6.23 per dozen in March 2025 amid a bird‑flu outbreak.

To resolve the case, the three companies have agreed to pay a combined $3.3 million to the participating states and to donate roughly 53 million eggs to food banks and nonprofit organizations. They will also adopt antitrust compliance programs, prohibit communications about pricing and bidding with competitors, and submit to monitoring.

The firms did not admit wrongdoing. New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “When powerful corporations collude behind the scenes to raise prices, working families suffer the costs.” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward added, “No product more quintessentially represents affordability than the price Americans pay for eggs.”