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US: Pork companies accused of conspiring to inflate prices

By  |  July 1, 2018

Several large US pork companies were hit with an antitrust lawsuit last week accusing them of conspiring to inflate pork prices in an effort to boost profit at consumers’ expense, reported Fox.

Defendants in the proposed class-action lawsuit included Hormel , based in Austin, Minnesota, and eight other companies, including Tyson Foods, JBS USA and Smithfield Foods.

The law firm bringing the case, Seattle-based Hagens Berman, contends the alleged price-fixing forced consumers to pay high prices for bacon, ham and other pork products.

The lawsuit alleges the companies coordinated their output and limited production “with the intent and expected result of increasing pork prices in the US,” and also exchanged “competitively sensitive” and “closely guarded non-public information” about prices, capacity, sales volume and demand.

Full Content: Fox 59

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