Missouri Opens Fertilizer Antitrust Probe as Price-Fixing Scrutiny Widens

Hanaway discussed the planned inquiry after meeting with farmers at the Missouri State Fair, where fertilizer expenses emerged as a concern, according to Brownfield. She said Missouri has an antitrust statute comparable to federal law that gives the attorney general authority to examine possible collusion among suppliers.

The state investigation broadens regulatory attention on the fertilizer market at a time when farmers have been pressing officials for greater scrutiny of prices and industry concentration. Brownfield reported that the US Department of Justice is investigating major fertilizer producers over potential collusion and other anticompetitive conduct. The Federal Trade Commission has also begun a formal inquiry into possible anticompetitive behavior in the US fertilizer industry, according to the publication.

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Hanaway suggested that Missouri’s investigation could proceed faster than the federal process. “Sometimes we can move a little quicker than they can,” she told Brownfield, referring to the Justice Department. She nevertheless said the state inquiry is expected to take months and that her office intends to pursue it as far as its legal authority permits.

The investigation comes amid mounting pressure from agricultural groups over fertilizer costs. In July, 17 state corn-grower associations asked leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee to accelerate scrutiny of potential anticompetitive practices in the fertilizer industry, Brownfield separately reported. Farmers and industry representatives have sought more information about the forces behind high prices and the effects of consolidation in the sector.

Read more: Fertilizer Pricing Dispute Draws Attention to Agricultural Market Concentration

Earlier in the year, a proposed class-action antitrust lawsuit accused several major fertilizer producers and distributors of coordinating to keep prices elevated through alleged price fixing and supply restraints, according to another Brownfield report. The allegations in that lawsuit are separate from Missouri’s newly announced investigation and don’t establish that the companies violated antitrust law.

The Missouri inquiry puts another enforcement authority into an expanding examination of the market for one of farmers’ most important production inputs. Hanaway’s announcement didn’t identify particular companies as targets or state that wrongdoing had occurred. Instead, according to Brownfield, the investigation will seek to determine whether suppliers competing for Missouri business have improperly coordinated their conduct.

Source: Brownfield Ag News