New York will receive about 4.9 million donated eggs for food banks and community organizations under a multistate settlement with three major egg producers accused of coordinating to raise prices.
Attorney General Letitia James announced Monday that Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum and Hickman's Egg Ranch will provide more than 50 million eggs nationwide and pay a combined $3.3 million to participating states after an investigation by her office, the U.S. Department of Justice and other states.
James' office said the investigation found the companies secretly communicated from about June 2022 to March 2025 to influence daily egg price quotes published by Urner Barry, a benchmark pricing service widely used in egg supply contracts.
In one example cited by the attorney general's office, Hickman's CEO emailed executives at Versova and Cal-Maine in December 2022 urging them to submit "strong bids, early and often" to push prices higher. James' office said all three companies then submitted higher bids, leading Urner Barry to increase its price quotes.
The attorney general's office said the alleged coordination artificially inflated prices paid by retailers and consumers across the country.
"When powerful corporations collude behind the scenes to raise prices, working families suffer the costs," James said in a statement. "These egg producers manipulated the market to squeeze even more profit out of consumers and businesses. By shutting this scheme down and delivering millions of eggs to those in need, we're sending a clear message that companies will not get away with illegal price hikes in New York."
Under the settlement, the companies must end coordination to manipulate prices, adopt compliance measures and cooperate with oversight by the states. They also must designate antitrust compliance officers to monitor for violations and report them to the states and DOJ.
The donated eggs will be provided at the companies' expense to food banks and nonprofit organizations across participating states and must meet food safety and regulatory standards.
The settlement was secured by James' office, DOJ and attorneys general in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.
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