DOJ and states’ attorneys general pursue settlement over alleged egg price benchmark manipulation
HELEN FITE
On June 29, 2026, the U. S. Department of Justice, together with the attorneys general of 17 states, filed a civil antitrust complaint against, and proposed settlement with, three major egg producers: Cal- Maine Foods, Inc., Hickman’ s Egg Ranch, Inc., and Versova-affiliated entities. The complaint alleges that the defendants coordinated bidding activity from June 2022 to March 2025 in order to artificially inflate egg price quotations published by Urner Barry
Publications. The DOJ alleges that because Urner Barry’ s quotations are widely used in egg supply contracts, the conduct increased prices throughout the supply chain and boosted the producers’ profits.
Alleged manipulation of the egg pricing benchmark
Unlike a traditional price-fixing scheme, where competitors allegedly agree on the price at which
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