The Price Of Eggs Soaring 138% Is No Coincidence

Eggs. Eggs used to be the most affordable source of protein. A couple of large eggs contains 14 grams of protein. This is about the same amount as three ounces hamburger.

But times they are a-changin’. In December, large Grade A eggs cost an average of $4.25 per dozen. That’s a 138% increase from $1.79 a year earlier, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. A dozen eggs would cost $1.33 in August 2020, by the way.

Industry posits that there has been an outbreak of avian flu in the past that has claimed to have killed millions of egg-laying chickens. Maybe. The price of chicken has also gone up. One pound of chicken cost In March 2020, $2.96 was charged and in March 2019, it was $4.34.

But here’s one weird thing: Have you noticed a scarcity of eggs or chicken at the grocery store? I sure haven’t: My local Wegmans is stacked to the rafters with eggs and chicken. Eggs are pricey — they top out at $7.78 — but they’re there.

Maybe there’s something else going on. Maybe, just maybe, there’s something else responsible for those soaring prices.

That’s what Farm Action, a farmer advocacy group, thinks. According to the group, “real culprit” The secret to sky-high prices lies in a “collusive scheme” Top U.S. egg producer to fix prices to gouge customers

In a letter Farm Action reported to the Federal Trade Commission that the alleged collusion had helped egg producers. “extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40%.”

The letter also stated that the avian influenza was not to be blamed.

“Examining publicly-available financial data from the egg industry, the letter determines that the supply disruption caused by the avian flu outbreak had an ‘apparently mild impact on the industry,’” the group said in a press release.

And the group said egg producers are making money hand over fist.

“For the 26-week period ending on November 26, 2022, Cal-Maine reported a ten-fold year-over-year increase in gross profits — from $50.392 million to $535.339 million — and a five-fold increase in its gross margins,” the letter said.

And the group says “the real culprit behind this 138 percent hike in the price of a carton of eggs appears to be a collusive scheme among industry leaders to turn inflationary conditions and an avian flu outbreak into an opportunity to extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40 percent.”

“In the end, what Cal-Maine Foods and the other large egg producers did last year — and seem to be intent on doing again this year — is extort billions of dollars from the pockets of ordinary Americans through what amounts to a tax on a staple we all need: eggs,” the letter said. “They did so without any legitimate business justification. They did so because there is no ‘reasonable substitute’ for one carton of eggs. They did so because they had power and weren’t afraid to use it.”

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joseph Curl is a 35-year veteran of politics, having served 12 years as White House correspondent in a national newspaper. For four years, he was the Drudge Report’s a.m. editor. Send tips to [email protected] Follow him @josephcurl on Twitter