Robert Besser
25 Jan 2023, 04:36 GMT+10
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a letter sent out this week, farm advocacy group Farm Action said that as Americans continue to pay more than ever for eggs, the Federal Trade Commission should examine high egg prices for signs of price fixing by major egg companies.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of eggs rose 138 percent in December from 2021, to $4.25 a dozen.
In its letter to FTC chair Lina Khan, Farm Action stressed that while the US Department of Agriculture blamed avian flu for high egg prices, the country's antitrust regulator should also investigate the record-high profits of leading egg companies.
According to a late December filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cal-Maine Foods, which controls 20 percent of the retail egg market in the United States, reported a quarterly sales rise of 110 percent and gross profits of more than 600 percent, over the same quarter in the previous fiscal year.
The company said its record sales were due to the fact that lower national egg supplies due to avian flu drives up prices, despite there being no positive avian flu cases on any of its farms.
USDA data showed that in October, US egg production was some 5 percent lower than last year, while egg supplies were down 29 percent in December, compared to the start of the year.
"We want the FTC to dig in and see if consumers are being price gouged," said Basel Musharbash, a lawyer representing Farm Action, as quoted by Reuters.
In a statement, Cal-Maine said that higher production costs, along with avian flu, caused higher prices.
In a statement, egg marketing group American Egg Board said that egg prices are influenced by various factors, adding that wholesale egg prices are beginning to drop.
Get a daily dose of Sports Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sports Sun.
More InformationThe Denver Nuggets hope to capitalize on an advantage given them by the NBA schedule-maker when they host the travel-weary ...
The Cleveland Cavaliers look to bounce back from a rare home loss when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. ...
The Boston Celtics didn't do much wrong in the opening quarter and breezed to a 139-96 home victory over the ...
Dejounte Murray recorded 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks never trailed while drubbing the host ...
Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and rookie Walker Kessler had a big game on both ends ...
Los Angeles Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed no regrets Wednesday about the team's ...
The PGA Tour makes the 14th of 44 regular-season stops in the FedEx Cup season at one of the world's ...
Hall of Fame NFL executive Bobby Beathard, an architect of four Super Bowl titles for two different teams, has died ...
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is teaming up with the American Heart Association on an initiative promoting CPR. Hamlin had ...
He inspired, confounded and dominated peers for 23 years in the NFL, but Tom Brady insists he's leaving for real ...
The San Francisco quarterback room just got smaller as 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan signaled Wednesday that Jimmy Garoppolo will ...
Field Level Media's Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours. PGA ...