Remember When Eggs Cost $8 a Dozen? Investigators Say It Wasn’t Just Inflation

Over the last few years, you likely paid somewhere in the ballpark of $6, $7, or even $8 for a dozen eggs in certain parts of the U.S. At the time, you may have cringed a little, but you sucked it up in the name of a good omelet and chalked it up to inflation. But it turns out those eggs were pricey for a far more nefarious reason: price-fixing. And now, thanks to a multistate investigation led by the Office of the New York Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 50 million eggs and $3.3 million are headed back to consumers after three of the country’s largest egg producers were caught conspiring to keep prices high.

What happened with egg prices anyway?

Food & Wine has tracked egg prices and the factors behind those wild swings for several years. Prices first spiked to roughly $7 per dozen in 2023, which at the time was attributed to inflation and a severe bird flu outbreak, before settling by summer. By December 2024, the average cost of a dozen large Grade A eggs reached $4.15, a 37% jump over the previous year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Newly implemented cage-free laws in states such as California, Colorado, and Michigan added further pressure to egg prices. By March 2025, egg prices had jumped from $2.53 to $5.63 per dozen in a single month. That same month, the Justice Department opened a preliminary antitrust probe into whether egg companies had coordinated to falsely inflate prices. Farm Action, an advocacy group, argued that Cal-Maine Foods, which controls roughly 20% of the egg market, had seen its gross profits jump 237% between fiscal years 2021 and 2024. However, the American Egg Board pushed back, with its president and CEO, Emily Metz, insisting that egg farmers were “price takers, not price makers,” and that supply shocks from bird flu were the real culprit. But it was this March 2025 probe that ultimately led to this new settlement.

Which companies were involved in the price-fixing of eggs?

According to a statement from the New York Attorney General’s office, the investigation found that Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum, and Hickman’s Egg Ranch illegally coordinated for years to influence a daily egg price index.

“When powerful corporations collude behind the scenes to raise prices, working families suffer the costs,” New York AG Letitia James said in the statement. “These egg producers manipulated the market to squeeze even more profit out of consumers and businesses.”

It’s important to note that none of the three companies admitted wrongdoing as part of this settlement. According to the Associated Press, Cal-Maine CEO Sherman Miller cited bird flu outbreaks, the pandemic, and broader inflation as the real drivers of price swings during the period under review, adding that the allegations against them are baseless. He added that the company’s settlement agreement “enables us to move forward so we can devote our full attention to what matters most: delivering affordable, high-quality eggs and egg-based prepared foods to consumers nationwide.” Versova and Hickman echoed similar statements.

Farm Action’s president, Angela Huffman, was unconvinced, saying, “Consumers paid record prices while dominant egg producers reported extraordinary profits, yet the result is another settlement that corporations can treat as the cost of doing business rather than meaningful accountability.”

How exactly did the companies collude?

From June 2022 to March 2025, the three companies allegedly communicated secretly to influence the daily egg price quotes published by Urner Barry, a benchmark pricing service used in many egg supply contracts. The AG cited an instance in December 2022 when Hickman’s then-CEO emailed executives at Versova and Cal-Maine, urging them to submit “strong bids, early and often” to push prices higher.

Where will the 53 million eggs be distributed?

Under the settlement, the companies will donate roughly 53 million eggs in total to food banks and community organizations nationwide (at the companies’ expense), with about 4.9 million of those eggs earmarked for New York. They’ll also pay a combined $3.3 million to the participating states, which include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Additionally, the companies must appoint dedicated antitrust compliance officers going forward. However, the settlement still needs approval from a federal judge before it’s final. No word on a date for when that may happen.

What does this mean for egg prices in the grocery store?

The price of eggs has already fallen sharply since their 2025 peak, dropping below $2.20 a dozen by May 2026, according to the AP. However, it’s impossible to say whether that is connected to this specific case or simply reflects supply catching up to demand after the bird flu outbreak. If prices do go back up, the companies now know someone is watching. As James said, “By shutting this scheme down and delivering millions of eggs to those in need, we’re sending a clear message that companies will not get away with illegal price hikes in New York.”