The United States federal government remains busy investigating price-fixing in the beef industry.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said a deal his officials reached with AgriStats will end information sharing among the companies that enabled them to discover each other’s plans for production volumes and pricing.
He said the ongoing antitrust investigation into the broader meatpacking sector has involved more than three million documents and many interviews and it continues to urge whistleblowers to provide inside information and has said they could pocket “financial rewards.”
Justice Department officials said the four largest beef processors (Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS USA and National Beef Packing) control about 85 per cent of the U.S. fed cattle market. The companies have faced private lawsuits alleging price-fixing through supply restrictions, though they have
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins linked the investigation to broader supply concerns, pointing to historically low cattle inventories and a decline in U.S. ranchers. She also raised concerns about foreign ownership among major processors.
