AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Attorney General is accusing America’s largest egg supplier of price gouging during the current coronavirus pandemic.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Cal-Maine Foods, which according to its website is the largest producer and marketer of eggs in the United States.

Cal-Maine, identified by Attorney General Paxton as the dominant egg supplier in Texas, is accused in the lawsuit of taking unfair advantage of the Governor’s COVID-19 disaster declaration and raising the price of eggs by around 300 percent without any supply issues or significant disruptions.

Price gouging laws apply to any person or entity selling necessities, such as food, at an exorbitant or excessive price after a disaster has been declared by the Governor or the President, according to Paxton.

“No one is exempt from price gouging laws in Texas, including suppliers of grocery stores and pharmacies,” said Attorney General Paxton.

Under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, any price-gougers may be required to reimburse consumers and may be held liable for civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation, with an additional penalty of up to $250,000 if the affected consumers are elderly. 

Egg buyers here in the Valley have also seen higher prices this month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in early January that the price of large Grade A eggs delivered to warehouses in Ohio and Pennsylvania was between 81 and 84 cents per dozen. By April 1, those prices had increased to $2.90 and $2.93 per dozen.

The price on Thursday, April 23, 2020, had dropped to $1.40 to $1.43 per dozen.

 Prices for large eggs are currently $1.48 at Walmart and $1.39 at Target according to each of the company’s websites.

21 News has reached out to Cal-Maine for reaction to the Texas lawsuit and received the below response:

“We strongly disagree with the allegations made by Attorney General Paxton.  Since 1958, we have operated with honesty and integrity.  We are steadfast in our belief these charges are grossly unfair and without merit. The domestic egg market is intensely competitive and highly volatile.  For decades, we have priced most of our sales off an independent, third-party market quote published by Urner Barry Publications, Inc.  We have no control over this market quote and it fluctuates wildly from week to week and sometimes day to day. We have been consistent in our pricing practices whether we sell at a profit or at a loss.  We will vigorously defend ourselves from this government overreach into agriculture, and look forward to speaking more in the future.”

– Jeff Eller, spokesperson, Cal-Maine Foods.

Read a copy of the Texas lawsuit here: