Egg Producers Accused of Price Gouging After 718% Profit Revealed

Mississippi-based fresh egg producer Cal-Maine Foods has been accused of price gouging on social media. It was revealed that the company doubled its revenues and grew its profit by 718 percent in the last quarter, as egg prices skyrocketed across the U.S.

"Price gouging," tweeted political consultant Nathan Schneider commenting on the news. "It's not inflation. It's price-gouging," agreed another Twitter user, while a third wrote: "Egg Price Gouging at its best. 718% profit increase."

Others pointed the finger at the Biden administration, which has been widely blamed for rising inflation last year and the growing cost of living. They also highlighted the lack of scrutiny towards big companies profiting from price rises. "This is just price gouging. Biden and his administration should have been on top of this s*** 3 years ago... " reads another comment on Twitter.

However, others tweeted that simple economics, and not greed, were behind the rise in Cal-Maine Foods' revenue. One Twitter user wrote: "Sigh.... It's simply supply (which is low right now) and demand. Plus inflation."

The price of eggs skyrocketed in December 2022, when a dozen large Grade A eggs cost American consumers $4.25 on average. This was more than double what they paid a year before, an average of $1.79 according to data from the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Since then, egg prices have gradually come down across the country, but they still remain much higher than they had been in the past decades—an upsetting change for such a well-loved, traditionally cheap staple.

In February, the average price for a dozen Grade A eggs in the country was $4.211, a 12.7 percent decline from January, when the same egg carton cost consumers $4.823, according to BLS. In the same period in 2022, the average cost of a dozen eggs was $2.86, while in 2021 it was $1.67. While egg price increases have been reported in every U.S. state, some saw higher price hikes, while others faced shortages in their stores.

Price increases for eggs have been linked to a combination of increased costs of fuel, feed, and packing following the pandemic years, as well as a global bird flu epidemic that has killed millions of birds in the U.S. alone. Cal-Maine Foods said that none of its birds, at its own facilities or contracted ones, tested positive for avian flu.

Enraged social-media users are not the only ones who have accused egg companies of profiteering from rising prices.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Representative Katie Porter of California sent a letter to Cal-Maine and other major egg producers in February. It read: "American families working to put food on the table deserve to know whether the increased prices they are paying for eggs represent a legitimate response to reduced supply or out-of-control corporate greed."

Newsweek has emailed Cal-Maine Foods' media team for comment.