U.S. egg corporations may be using avian flu as an excuse to hike egg prices, generating record profits while hurting American consumers, according to new analysis by nonprofit organization Food and Water Watch (FWW), reports The Guardian.

While avian flu has been a principal driver of rising consumer egg prices, the highly concentrated egg market may also be contributing to the soaring consumer prices — and the spread of the virus, according to FWW.

“Bird flu does not fully explain the sticker shock consumers experience in the egg aisle… corporate consolidation is a key culprit behind egg price spikes,” said Amanda Starbuck, lead author of the FWW report, “The Economic Cost of Food Monopolies: The Rotten Egg Oligarchy.”

“Powerful corporations that control every step of the supply chain — from breeding hens to hatching eggs to processing and distributing eggs — are making windfall profits off this crisis, raising their prices above and beyond what is necessary to cover any rising costs.”

The analysis found that in some regions, prices were going up even before the new strain of the deadly H5N1 virus had affected poultry flocks and reduced egg production.

In one example, the largest U.S. egg producer, Cal-Maine, boasted a sevenfold increase in gross profits in fiscal year 2023 compared with 2021, after increasing prices above rising costs — and despite its flocks not being affected by avian flu during that period.

A separate analysis also found that avian flu alone cannot explain consumer prices, which rose by 61% over the past six months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.