U.S. Justice Department seeks to end alleged egg price manipulation by major producers

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Egg price manipulation case

Highlights

U.S. Justice Department and 17 states filed a civil lawsuit alleging Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman’s Egg Ranch, and Versova entities inflated benchmark egg prices via coordinated bidding.
The companies’ alleged conduct influenced daily Urner Barry quotations used nationwide for egg pricing at grocery stores, restaurants and other buyers, with quotations falling after investigation notice in March 2025.
Proposed settlements would prohibit defendants from communicating bidding strategies, require antitrust compliance programs, and remain subject to a 60-day Federal Register public comment period before court approval.

Complaint outlines benchmark bidding allegations

As reported by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Antitrust Division and 17 state attorneys general filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa alleging that major egg producers coordinated to manipulate daily price quotations published by Urner Barry Publications. The department simultaneously filed proposed settlements that would bar the companies from engaging in similar conduct in the future, subject to court approval.

The complaint alleges that Cal-Maine Foods Inc., Hickman’s Egg Ranch Inc. and Centrum Valley Holdings LLC, Versova Holdings LLC, and Versova Management Cooperative worked together to artificially inflate benchmark quotations that influence what grocery stores, restaurants and other buyers pay for eggs nationwide. Urner Barry uses spot market bidding information, including data from the Egg Clearinghouse, when issuing daily quotations that affect wholesale pricing for billions of eggs sold each year.

According to the allegations, the companies agreed to submit a high volume of bids, use multiple defendants to signal broader demand, place bids shortly before benchmark publication, submit bids unlikely to result in trades, and execute trades at premium prices. The department also says benchmark egg quotations fell significantly from their peak after the companies learned of the investigation and were told to preserve documents in March 2025.

Proposed restrictions and consumer impact

If approved, the settlements would prohibit the defendants from communicating with competitors about bidding strategies and the prices, timing and number of bids. They also would bar communications about certain bid, price, supply and demand information shared with a benchmark publisher, as well as agreements on the number, pricing or other terms of bids or transactions.

The settlements further would ban discussions with competitors about bids or transactions that are not tied to legitimate business needs or are intended to influence a benchmark publication. In addition, the companies would have to adopt antitrust compliance programs, appoint compliance officers, monitor cooperative and joint venture meetings, and report potential violations.

The enforcement action reflects the department’s focus on food affordability and competition in agricultural markets. Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin joined the complaint and proposed settlements.

Under the Tunney Act, the proposed settlements and competitive impact statements will be published in the Federal Register, triggering a 60-day public comment period before the Iowa federal court decides whether the final judgments are in the public interest. Cal-Maine is based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, Hickman’s in Buckeye, Arizona, and Versova in Sioux Center, Iowa.

In our earlier article on the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s proposals to change Apple and Google app store payment rules, we explained that developers could be allowed to steer users to alternative payment options outside the stores. We also noted the regulator’s focus on reducing fees and strengthening competition in a market it views as dominated by the two platforms.

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