WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD NEWS) — A possible Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement with Agri Stats could become the administration’s first concrete enforcement move in a broader campaign against concentration across meat and protein markets.
Reuters reported that the DOJ plans to settle its case against Agri Stats, the data company accused of enabling anticompetitive practices in the chicken, pork, and turkey industries through weekly benchmarking reports, with a trial previously set for this month.
Though Agri Stats is not a meatpacker, the case centers on whether information-sharing tools helped highly concentrated protein companies align behavior in ways that affected prices and supply. Reuters reported that Agri Stats denies the allegations and argues that its services lower prices.
At Monday’s DOJ press conference, Peter Navarro, senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, pointed directly to Agri Stats as a model of the behavior the administration wants to break up.
He said companies were feeding detailed market data into the system and getting back signals that supported monopoly-style pricing. He also suggested that the expected settlement could ripple beyond poultry and pork into the wider protein sector, including beef, where the DOJ and the USDA are separately investigating packer concentration.
A settlement would not resolve the beef probe, but it would show Washington moving from rhetoric to action in at least one part of the protein business.
Cattle producers are continuing to monitor the Justice Department’s investigation into the packing industry as USDA signals a more aggressive effort to address concentration within the cattle sector.
Justin Tupper, President of the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, joined us on Friday’s Market Day Report to discuss the latest developments and what they could mean for producers.
In his interview with RFD News, Tupper shared his reaction to this week’s press conference and whether he is encouraged by the progress being made in the investigation. He also discussed the Justice Department’s whistleblower rewards program and its potential role in gathering industry information.
Tupper highlighted the need for more regional and mid-size processing capacity to strengthen competition in the cattle industry.
He also weighed in on the Justice Department’s antitrust settlement involving Agri Stats and whether it could impact meat prices for consumers, and his outlook for the investigation moving forward.
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