A group representing farmers isn’t so sure that higher egg prices are because of avian flu, pointing instead to corporate greed for the skyrocketing costs at grocery stores.
Farm Action, a farmer-led organization fighting corporate monopolies in agriculture, said it believes the impact of the bird flu on production has been “minimal” and blames the five largest egg producers for inflating prices for bigger profits.
“While avian flu has been cited as the primary driver of skyrocketing egg prices, its actual impact on production has been minimal. Instead, dominant egg producers have leveraged the crisis to raise prices, amass record profits and consolidate market power.
“The slow recovery in flock size, despite historically high prices, further suggests coordinated efforts to restrict supply and sustain inflated prices,” said Angela Huffman, president of Farm Action, in a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday.
Virginia expert: Avian flu has ‘significant impact on egg prices’
Bird flu has been reported in Virginia, primarily in coastal areas including the Eastern Shore, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
A state poultry expert has said that HPAI, or bird influenza, has had a “significant impact on egg prices and availability.”
“Since December, over 16 million laying hens in the U.S. have been infected and depopulated due to HPAI,” said Michael Persia, a poultry expert with Virginia Cooperative Extension and a professor in Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “This represents about five percent of the national laying flock. This has had a significant impact on egg prices and availability, with some shelves going empty with the reduced supply.”
Persia said he expected prices would stabilize soon as egg demand post-holiday season usually decreases.
“Supply will remain tight until laying hens can be replaced. It’s important to note that chickens don’t fully mature and start egg production until they are about five months old, so replacing flocks is not a quick process.”
FTC, DOJ urged to investigate egg producers
While Farm Action acknowledges that producers have been impacted by bird flu, it believes that large producers are intentionally not expanding their flocks. Farm Action is urging the FTC and DOJ to investigate and take action to rein in the corporate greed and force corrective action to lower prices.
During the 2015 avian flu outbreak, the national flock numbers recovered within eight months, yet this time around, a recovery has still not been achieved, according to Farm Action.
Farm Action believes the five dominant egg firms are using increased profits to acquire their competition and eliminate lower priced competitors.
Entry into the market has become significantly harder due to the highly concentrated nature of the breeder supply chain impeding the ability of new competitors to enter the market and increase supply to help stabilize prices, the letter states.
The Farm Action network includes farmers, ranchers, independent processors, food system workers and rural community leaders across the country.
Farm Action is asking the FTC and DOJ to obtain more information about the pricing and production practices of dominant egg producers and their hatchery suppliers and to publish the findings publicly.
“As smaller producers struggle to remain competitive—or even operational—in this environment, consumers are having to face more frequent price shocks with little recourse,” said Huffman.
Democratic lawmakers to Trump: ‘Americans are looking to you to lower food prices’
Members of Congress and U.S. Senators, including Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, seem to agree with Farm Action’s take on the reason for high egg prices for consumers.
In a letter to Donald Trump concerning prices, 21 Democratic lawmakers urged Trump to look at companies who exploit crises like pandemics and avian flu outbreaks as an opportunity to raise prices beyond what is needed to cover rising costs.
They said Cal-Maine, the country’s largest egg producer, reported a “significant jump” in gross profits between the first and second quarters of fiscal year 2025.
“Translation: the egg company and its shareholders are making higher profits while Americans shell out more for grocery staples,” the Democrats said.
During his campaign, Trump courted voters by railing on the price of groceries, including eggs, and promised lower prices starting on day one.
Despite Trump’s pledge to voters to lower food prices immediately, he’s since admitted that it will be “hard” to do.
Day one has now turned in to day 24, and prices have increased on many grocery staples including eggs.
Democrats have criticized the president for focusing on mass deportations and pardons of dangerous J6’ers instead of following through on his promise to lower grocery prices.
“Your sole action on costs was an executive order that contained only the barest mention of food prices, and not a single specific policy to reduce them. You have tools you can use to lower grocery costs and crack down on corporate profiteering, and we write to ask if you will commit to using those tools to make good on your promises to the American people,” the letter stated.
“While you have gestured towards the need to lower food prices by ordering executive agencies to deliver emergency price relief, your executive order on the topic gave American families no clarity on how you would actually do so,” the letter said.
Like Farm Action, the Democrats asked Trump to put together a joint task force with the DOJ and FTC to investigation food price manipulation throughout the supply chain.
“Americans are looking to you to lower food prices,” the letter said.
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- Spanberger: ‘Exorbitant’ egg prices, avian flu need to be focal points for USDA
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Crystal Graham
