At a time when many Arizona families were already struggling to afford groceries, some of the country's biggest egg producers were quietly making things worse on purpose.
Attorney General Kris Mayes (D-AZ) announced Tuesday that her office helped secure more than 50 million eggs for consumers and $3.3 million in settlements from three major egg producers, following a multistate investigation that exposed years of behind-the-scenes price coordination.
Working alongside the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys general from 16 other states, Mayes's office found that Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum, and Hickman's Egg Ranch had been secretly communicating to manipulate a daily egg pricing benchmark called Urner Barry, a service widely referenced in egg supply contracts across the industry.
By coordinating their bidding activity on that platform, the companies were able to push quoted prices artificially higher, with those increases eventually landing on grocery store shelves nationwide.
Coordination Wasn't Subtle
In December 2022, Hickman's CEO sent an email to executives at the other two companies encouraging them to submit "strong bids, early and often" to drive prices up. All three companies complied, flooding the service with inflated bids that caused benchmark prices to climb.
The scheme ran from approximately June 2022 through March 2025.
Mayes then framed the settlement as both accountability and relief.
"Arizonans have had to pay more for household staples due to illegal tariffs and rising inflation," she said. "But now we know that some prices increases, like those affecting eggs, were the result of illegal price-fixing by major egg producers. This settlement holds these companies accountable, ends their illegal conduct, and helps Arizonans who need it the most."
Going forward, all three companies must halt illegal coordination, appoint antitrust compliance officers to monitor for future violations, and cooperate with state and federal oversight.
The donated eggs, more than 53 million of them, will be distributed through food banks and nonprofits across the participating states, paid for entirely by the companies themselves.
Now in Arizona, a dozen large eggs typically costs between $3.99 and $6.00, depending on where you shop and which variety you're buying, so this case is significant given the current climate.
