FOX Business Correspondent Lydia Hu has the latest on the impact of bird flu for ‘America’s Newsroom.’
Consumer wallets were affected by skyrocketing inflation in the US last year.
The latest concern is eggs, which rose 138% in December from a year earlier to $4.25 a dozen, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A farm group is calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the surge over signs of price gouging by leading egg companies.
Groups ranging from regulators to farmers and industry officials have frequently debated in recent years the power of top agricultural companies to set prices and increase what consumers pay for groceries.
‘TIME HIGH’ EGG PRICES: A HISTORICAL LOOK AT EGG COSTS SINCE 1980
A customer inspects eggs before purchasing at a store in Glenview, Illinois. Border officials are seeing more seizures of eggs amid soaring prices and inflation. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh/AP Newsroom)
The nation’s antitrust regulator should probe record high profits at a top egg company, Farm Action said Thursday in a letter to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan.
That egg producer is Cal-Maine Foods, which controls 20% of the retail egg market.
Cal-Maine’s quarterly sales rose 110% and gross profit more than 600% compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, according to a regulatory filing.
The company pointed to a reduced supply of eggs across the country due to bird flu, which pushed up prices, as the reason for its record sales.
Half-empty egg shelves are seen at a supermarket on January 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (And RYU/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images)
IN SOME COUNTRIES THE PRICES OF EGGS DROP MORE THAN 64%.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) also pointed to a record bird flu outbreak as a reason for high prices.
Nearly 58 million chickens and turkeys have been killed from bird flu or to control the spread of the virus since the start of 2022, mostly in March and April, according to the USDA.
U.S. egg production was down about 5% in October compared to last year, and egg inventories fell 29% in December compared to the beginning of the year, a significant drop but one that may not explain the record high prices, he said. is Basel Musharbash, a lawyer in Farm action.
Cartons of eggs sit in a freezer at a supermarket on January 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (And RYU/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images)
US BORDER AUTHORITIES REPORT INCREASE IN EGG SMUGGLING
“We want the FTC to look into it and see if consumers are being priced out,” Musharbash said.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | To change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CALM | CAL-MAINE FOODS INC. | 54.67 | -1.05 | -1.88% |
In a statement to Reuters, Cal-Maine said higher production costs were also a factor in the higher prices.
The American Egg Board, an egg marketing group, said in a statement that egg prices reflect a variety of factors and that wholesale egg prices are beginning to fall.
FOX Business has reached out to the FTC for comment.