The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should investigate high egg prices for signs of price gouging from leading egg companies. one farm group stated While Americans continue to pay more than ever for household ingredients.
US regulators, farmers and industry Controversies have been raging in recent years over the power of leading agricultural companies to set prices and drive what consumers pay for groceries, for example when the price of beef. soaring in 2021
The latest concern is egg prices, which rose 138% in December from a year earlier to $4.25 a dozen. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) pointed to a record outbreak of bird flu as the reason for the high prices. But the country’s antitrust regulators should also examine the record profits of top egg companies, Farm Action said Thursday in a report. note To FTC Chairman Lina Khan
Cal-Maine Foods, which controls 20% of the retail egg market. It reported a 110% increase in quarterly sales and a more than 600% increase in gross profit from the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. According to a late December filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company pointed to a decline in the nationwide egg supply as bird flu drove prices up, which was the cause of record sales. The company does not have any testing for avian influenza on the company’s farms.
US egg production fell about 5% in October compared to a year ago. And egg inventory dropped 29% in December compared to the beginning of the year. The latest USDA data shows — a sharp decline, but may not explain record — high prices, said Farm Action attorney Basel Musharbash.
“We want the FTC to look and see if consumers are being overcharged,” Musharbash said.
The FTC declined to comment.
In a statement, Cal-Maine said higher production costs along with bird flu contributed to higher prices.
The American Egg Board, an egg marketing group, said in a statement that egg prices reflect a variety of factors. and wholesale egg prices began to decline.
Nearly 58 million chickens and turkeys have been killed from bird flu or to control the spread of the virus since the start of 2022, mostly in March and April. The previous pandemic in 2015 killed 50.5 million birds, according to the USDA. one
Cal-Maine stock has reduce in the past few weeks After climbing nearly 50% last year
