Posted on 08/31/2024 2:49:09 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Agri Stats, the data analytics and consulting company, unlawfully collected competitive industry data. Here's what to know.
If the price of meat — specifically chicken, pork, and turkey — feels incredibly high right now, that's because it is. Though it may have little to do with actual supply or demand.
In May, a judge ruled that the data analytics and consulting company Agri Stats must face a lawsuit that accused the company of a price-fixing scheme that included major chicken, pork, and turkey processors across the U.S. In August, the company attempted to have the lawsuit thrown out, only to have a judge once again reject its request.
According to Reuters, in May, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim in Minnesota first denied the motion for dismissal of the suit brought forth by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and six individual states. Tunheim ruled that the Justice Department's antitrust claims were sufficient to move forward.
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The lawsuit alleges that the company unlawfully collected competitive industry data and shared it with its subscribers — who pay millions to access the data — then used that information to keep its prices inflated to "artificially high" levels.
"The complaint alleges that Agri Stats violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by collecting, integrating, and distributing competitively sensitive information related to price, cost, and output among competing meat processors," the DOJ's press release on the lawsuit reads. "This conduct harms customers, including grocery stores and American families."
The DOJ's release on the case also noted that the data included information on sales pricing, fixed costs like worker and farmer compensation, and output by individual companies. Participating processors in the data sharing account for "more than 90% of broiler chicken sales, 80% of pork sales and 90% of turkey sales in the United States," it added.
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"The complaint further alleges that Agri Stats understood that meat processors have used these reports for anti-competitive purposes and, in some instances, even encouraged meat processors to raise prices and reduce supply," the DOJ explained. "While distributing troves of competitively sensitive information among participating processors, Agri Stats withholds its reports from meat purchasers, workers, and American consumers, resulting in an information asymmetry that further exacerbates the competitive harm of Agri Stats’ information exchanges."
Agri Stats has denied any wrongdoing, telling Agriculture Drive in 2023 that it has played a "vital" role in lowering the cost of these products instead.
“DOJ’s lawsuit threatens to unwind these benefits and cause further harm to Americans who already are struggling with inflated food costs,” Justin Bernick, a partner at Hogan Lovells representing Agri Stats, stated.
In August, More Perfect Union released a deep dive on the topic, which is well worth 10 minutes of your time to watch right now.
Yes, especially if you count burning down poultry farms and cattle barns,
and infecting poultry with diseases. Yes, that's price fixing.
Tyson foods, formerly big Clinton supporters. It’s their fault.
Don’t buy their products. That’s simple.
Could it also be the fires that have occurred in poultry and beef plants?
Tyler Chicken is much better. George Costanza is a hen supervisor there.
BINGO, We have a Winner!!!
I have to get things on sale now just to come close to the prices I paid under Trump.
Yes. JD Rockefeller was a notorious monopolist. He had tons of cash flow from his oil businesses. He would move into a new territory and try to buy out to competition. If they didn’t agree he would sell at a loss until he drove the local independent producers out of business. Of he would simply have their warehouses burned down. Allegedly.
At least that’s what I learned from my AP US History teacher. I doubt she was completely wrong. Ultimately Standard Oil had to be broken up later. Didn’t harm him or his family he still owned a big piece of all the new companies.
Beef is higher and has been for several years.
This sounds like MSM setting up for Kamala’s “Price Gouging” stuff. Getting the idea into people’s minds that “The government has to DO something about this!!!!”
I’m finding good prices on meats. It’s everything else that has doubled. Eggs are $4 this week...
Aldi has some good meat prices.
What happened to Kenny Rogers?
“Meat and Poultry Is Wildly Expensive Now — and It Could Be Due to Price Fixing”
And could be due to increase cost of fuel farmers and truckers now pay, increase in prices of fertilizer used to grow crops, increase in prices of animal and poultry food, and mandating $20/hr minimum wages
There are two or three companies controlling the processing plants. Tyson and a Brazilian company. They pushed the small guys out and they are the ones fixing the market. The farmers are not getting it. I don’t know anything about this agri company but knowing this DOJ I would bet they are innocent
From what I’ve seen, beef is the high-priced meat here. Some of it is absolutely outrageous, but I remember the last time I bought a ham & it was too.
Rest in peace.
I heard that Kenny Rogers Roasters is still operating in Indonesia.
/Sarc
BS
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