Jim Banks and Elizabeth Warren push DOJ to further investigate egg prices
Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have urged the department of Justice (DOJ) to deepen its inquiry into rising egg prices, which had reached unprecedented levels earlier this year. In a bipartisan letter, they accused major egg companies of capitalizing on the avian flu crisis to unjustly inflate prices for consumers. Following the DOJ’s initial investigation launched in March, which coincided with a peak in egg prices at $6.23,the prices began to decline shortly after,indicating a potential link between the investigation and the drop. The senators expressed concern that the price surges might stem from noncompetitive practices among large producers, urging the DOJ to thoroughly examine these trends and the history of anti-competitive behavior in the industry.
Jim Banks and Elizabeth Warren push DOJ to further investigate egg prices
Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called on the Department of Justice, which launched an investigation into rising egg prices in March, to investigate further whether major egg companies are engaging in anticompetitive practices to boost their profits.
The senators sent a letter to the DOJ on Thursday, accusing egg companies of exploiting the avian flu crisis to raise egg prices for consumers.
“As you are aware, the sustained increase in egg prices has placed a significant financial strain on American families, particularly working-class households,” the bipartisan letter said. “While egg producers and trade associations point to recent avian flu outbreaks as the cause of high prices, we are concerned that record-high egg prices reflect noncompetitive behavior among large producers.”
In March, egg prices for consumers reached a historic high of $6.23, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The DOJ launched an antitrust investigation into the cost of eggs on March 7, and days after the investigation’s announcement, egg prices began to drop. The week, egg prices dropped to $5.51, down by $0.57 compared to the week of March 16.
“Egg prices began to drop from their record peaks only after the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into whether large egg producers had engaged in anticompetitive practices to raise egg prices or restrict egg supply,” Banks and Warren said. “Large egg producers and trade associations have previously been found liable for price fixing. Given this history, we urge the DOJ to thoroughly review whether recent trends in egg prices reflect impermissible coordination among egg producers and trade associations.”
TRUMP’S UK TRADE DEAL EXPLAINED
In March, the Trump administration began importing hundreds of millions of eggs from Turkey to combat rising egg prices. After that, wholesale prices began to drop. The wholesale price of a dozen large white eggs was $3.69 in the week ending May 3, whereas it was $6.14 in the week ending Jan. 17.
“Gas is down, gasoline is down, energy is down, groceries are down, eggs are down. Eggs, thank you very much. But eggs are down,” Trump said during remarks in the Oval Office on Thursday.
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