New York sues mega egg producer for COVID crisis price-gouging
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Egg options at a Ridgewood grocery store. Eagle photo by David Brand
By David Brand
Talk about eggs-orbitant pricing.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James sued a major Pennsylvania-based egg producer for price-gouging cartons of eggs during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday, James charged Hillandale Farms with quadrupling the price of eggs in March and April and passing the costs on to New York consumers, particularly in low-income neighborhoods.
“Hillandale has increased the prices of eggs in New York not to offset any increased costs — which it acknowledges have not affected its prices — but simply to line its own pockets and profit off New Yorkers during a time of crisis,” the complaint states.
James said Hillandale illegally hiked prices on roughly 4 million cartons of eggs in March and April compared to the prices in January.
She cited the increased wholesale price of eggs sold to Western Beef supermarkets, which ranged from 59 cents to $1.10 in January. By March 15, however, Hillandale raised the price to $1.49 before jacking the cost up to $2.93 — a fivefold increase, according to the lawsuit. The supermarkets passed the price increase on to customers, she said.
Hillandale similarly hiked prices at Stop & Shop, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Associated Supermarkets and even the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, according to the lawsuit.
Food justice advocates said the price gouging threatened the health and finances of New Yorkers already devastated by the coronavirus.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York, food insecurity rates have doubled, putting the health and educational progress of children at risk and threatening the well-being of seniors and low-income families,” said CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute director Nicholas Freudenberg. “Rising food prices have contributed to recent increases in food insecurity.”
Hillandale did not respond to a request for comment.
