The US Department of Justice has widened its investigation into rising beef prices to include eight of the country’s biggest grocery retailers, extending scrutiny from meat processors to the shops selling beef to consumers.
Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize, Costco and Amazon have each received letters from Associate Attorney General Stanley E Woodward Jr concerning recent increases in retail beef prices. The Antitrust Division announced the expansion on Tuesday, 1 September. ([investing.com](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/us-justice-department-expands-beef-price-probe-to-eight-retailers-4886862?utm_source=openai))
The inquiry began in May with a focus on the four largest US beef processors — JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods and National Beef — which the department says account for more than 85 per cent of beef processing in the country.
Investigators are now examining whether pricing practices across the wider supply chain have contributed to higher costs for shoppers, including the margins retailers make on beef and the terms on which they buy from meatpackers.
Justice Department seeks six years of beef pricing records
Letters dated 14 July ask the companies to provide records covering the period from 2020 to 2026. The department is seeking information on retail sales and prices, wholesale purchases, costs, profit margins, pricing strategies and purchasing arrangements.
The retailers have also been asked to explain changes in their beef-pricing strategies and margins, provide details of cost movements and outline their wholesale agreements with meat processors. Company representatives were requested to brief investigators by 24 July, according to copies of the letters made public by Independent Newsroom. ([independentnewsroom.com](https://independentnewsroom.com/p/exclusive-justice-department-widens-antitrust-inquiry-into-meatpackers-and-major-grocers?utm_source=openai))
“The Antitrust Division is assessing trends in beef prices — a matter of critical concern to the American public, and a priority for the United States Department of Justice,” Mr Woodward wrote in the letters.
The department said the investigation would include an analysis of wholesale and retail price trends, as well as other factors that may be influencing the cost of beef.
There has been no finding that any of the eight retailers broke the law. The requests for information form part of an ongoing investigation into the causes of higher prices rather than an accusation of wrongdoing.
Beef prices have become a politically sensitive issue in the US, where the cost of meat has risen as the domestic cattle herd has fallen. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the country had about 86.2 million cattle and calves on 1 January — the lowest level since the 1950s.
The government’s investigation into the meatpacking industry is reviewing more than three million documents and includes interviews with participants across the cattle and beef markets, the Justice Department has said.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said in May that whistleblowers could be eligible for rewards if information they provided led to a successful criminal enforcement action. He said people could receive between 15 and 30 per cent of money recovered where their information helped secure a criminal penalty worth more than $1 million.
President Donald Trump has separately proposed giving farmers and ranchers greater ability to process their own meat, in what he described as a response to a “nasty monopoly” in the meat industry.
The proposal followed criticism from cattle producers and some Republicans of a plan to allow tariff-free imports of up to 300,000 metric tonnes of foreign beef in an attempt to ease pressure on consumers.
The White House has argued that additional imports could help lower prices, while domestic producers have raised concerns about the effect on American ranchers. The Justice Department’s expanded investigation will now examine the retail end of that same supply chain, from wholesale purchasing agreements to the price displayed in supermarkets.
