Pork processing giants demand dismissal of antitrust complaint over alleged price fixing

Several leading pork processing companies have asked a federal judge to dismiss a sweeping antitrust case accusing them and agricultural data company Agri Stats of colluding to fix pork prices.

Court records show Clemens Food Group, Hormel Foods, JBS USA, Seaboard Foods, Smithfield Foods, Triumph Foods and Tyson Foods filed for relief late last week. At the same time, Agri Stats moved for summary judgment in its favor, seeking relief from the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs in this case consist of five groups representing different sectors of the buy-side supply chain. They claim that these companies manipulated pork prices through shared data provided by Agri Stats, creating artificial price inflation to the detriment of buyers.

Related: Federal judge in Minnesota upholds ruling in antitrust case involving pork industry

The case has attracted considerable attention, particularly from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), which filed a separate lawsuit against Agri Stats on similar grounds last year. This federal lawsuit is supported by five states, accusing Agri Stats of knowingly conspiring with producers in the pork, poultry and beef industries to fix prices. A federal court recently denied Agri Stats’ motion to dismiss the case, signaling ongoing judicial review.

In the current pork industry case, Minnesota District Court Judge John Tunheim consolidated 27 lawsuits in 2022 involving 146 parties. The consolidated lawsuit combines various actions alleging that America’s largest pork producers and integrators engaged in illegal conduct to limit pork supply and fix prices, violating both federal and state antitrust laws. Together, these companies hold over 80% of the wholesale pork market, which increases the risk of legal proceedings.

Source: Swine Web