Cal-Maine Foods, which is the largest producer of eggs in the United States, has reportedly seen revenues more than double in the last quarter, with a profit increase of 718%.
In spite of recent egg shortages, Cal-Maine has not seen dwindling production. The company, comprising approximately 20% of the domestic egg market, reported the total number of eggs sold increasing by 1%, according to CNN.
AJ+ reported that the average price of a dozen eggs has skyrocketed from $1.79 a little over a year ago to $4.25 as of the end of March. Meanwhile, CNN relayed that the average price of a dozen eggs in the quarter ending on Feb. 25 was $3.30, over two times the average of $1.61 a year earlier.
While inflation, the avian flu, and the war between Russia and Ukraine have all contributed to the increased consumer cost of eggs, AJ+ claimed there are other additional factors at play including alleged corrupt greed.
According to the report below, companies have seen an average 40% increase in the total cost of goods and now are charging prices that are 138% higher than before.
The biggest egg producer in the U.S., Cal-Maine Foods, reported a 718% increase in profits, thanks to the rising cost of eggs.
Is corporate greed to blame for sky-high egg prices?
— with @yelmjouie pic.twitter.com/PQC8SKpFDj
— AJ+ (@ajplus) March 30, 2023
CNN found that Cal-Maine Foods’ net income shot up to $323.2 million after being around $39.5 million a year ago.
The Daily Wire reported that the price of a dozen eggs passed that of a pound of ground beef in January, with this being the first time such a thing has occurred since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began tracking such information in 1980. According to the BLS, an average dozen eggs would run somebody $4.82 in January 2023, with a pound of ground beef coming in cheaper at $4.64. In the year prior, eggs were around $1.93 while beef was $4.77.
A farmer-led advocacy group called Farm Action has blamed the extremely high egg prices on a “collusive scheme” orchestrated by large U.S. egg producers to set prices at higher than normal rates. In January, the group drafted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), urging the group to launch a probe into the egg industry and pursue legal action against any potential violations of antitrust law. The group claims that this alleged collusion effort granted large players in the industry the means to “turn inflationary conditions and an avian flu outbreak into an opportunity to extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40 percent.”
