Big Egg’s Price Fixing Scandal
7/10/202620 min
Record-breaking egg prices in recent years were blamed on an avian flu outbreak. But a recent Department of Justice complaint spells out another cause: a scheme among some of America’s top egg producers to bid up the cost of eggs. WSJ’s Patrick Thomas explains how they allegedly manipulated the “Wall Street of Eggs.” Jessica Mendoza hosts.
Further Listening:
- Eggs Are Still Expensive. Is This Company to Blame?
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJessica Mendoza· Host0:00
[music] Whenever we need someone to crack the code on egg issues, we turn to our resident eggxpert, agricultural reporter Patrick Thomas. [music] And I guess for the journal, we can call you our egg correspondent at this point? I mean, you talk about other stuff with us.
Patrick Thomas0:22
Of course.
Jessica Mendoza· Host0:22
But I feel like this is the thing you come back for.
Patrick Thomas0:24
[laughs] I- isn't it fun to talk about eggs again? It's been like- Always ... how long has it been? About a month and- About [laughs] Or I'm just kidding. A year and a couple months.
Jessica Mendoza· Host0:32
Thereabouts, a year. [laughs] About a year ago, Patrick talked to us about egg inflation. Prices were soaring and customers were upset.
Speaker 3· Soundbite0:41
The Agriculture Department predicts egg prices could soar another 20% this year. Egg prices are at an all-time high. The consumer price index says they rose yet again last month to $6.23 per dozen.
Jessica Mendoza· Host0:55
At the time, egg producers blamed those sky-high prices on bird flu, which was absolutely deadly for America's egg-laying hens. As of last year, more than 150 million chickens and turkeys had been killed by the virus. But it turns out there was another reason for those crazy egg prices. Just last week, the Department of Justice laid out the findings of a more than year-long investigation.
Patrick Thomas1:26
The department has come out and outlined some behavior