The US Department of Justice has widened its investigation into soaring beef prices to include eight of the country’s largest grocery retailers, including Walmart, Costco, Amazon and Kroger.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward sent letters to the companies seeking information about recent increases in retail beef prices and their pricing, costs, margins and purchasing practices.
The investigation now covers Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize USA, Costco and Amazon. The retailers have not been accused of wrongdoing.
Letters sent on 14 July asked the companies to preserve relevant documents and provide details of their beef sales and pricing strategies, wholesale purchasing arrangements, costs and profit margins. The Justice Department also requested briefings from company officials.
Beef price investigation reaches grocery retailers
The move extends an inquiry launched in May into the four largest US beef processors: JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods and National Beef.
The department says the so-called “Big Four” control more than 85 per cent of the country’s beef-processing market. Investigators have been examining whether the concentration of the industry has contributed to higher prices for consumers and squeezed cattle producers.
Federal officials said the inquiry had involved reviewing more than three million documents and interviewing people across the industry.
“Beef prices are a critical concern to Americans, and a priority for this Justice Department,” the department said in a post announcing the expansion.
The investigation comes as American shoppers face historically high prices for beef. Ground beef sold for an average of $6.89 (£5.15) a pound in July, according to federal inflation data, up about 10 per cent from a year earlier.
A shrinking cattle herd has added to supply pressures. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the US had about 86.2 million cattle and calves on 1 January, the lowest level since the 1950s.
Attorney General Todd Blanche has urged potential whistleblowers to come forward, saying those whose information leads to a successful criminal enforcement action could receive between 15 and 30 per cent of money recovered where the penalty exceeds $1 million.
President Donald Trump has separately backed plans to make it easier for farmers and ranchers to process their own meat, describing the existing system as a “nasty monopoly”. The proposal followed criticism from cattle producers and some Republicans of a plan to allow tariff-free imports of up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef to help bring down prices.
The Justice Department has contacted all eight retailers for information as it examines pricing across more stages of the beef supply chain.
