Agribusinesses, Facing Antitrust Wave, Hit With Turkey Suit (1)

Butterball LLC, Kraft Heinz Food Co., Tyson Foods Inc., and other top agribusinesses were hit with an antitrust lawsuit in Chicago federal court claiming they used lessons learned from an alleged chicken price-fixing conspiracy to prop up the cost of turkey.

The suit also targets Agri Stats Inc., which runs a “secretive” industry pricing database. The poultry producers used it to exchange “detailed financial and production data” with one another, which let them “easily identify” which turkey products they were selling for less than their competitors, according to the Dec. 19 complaint.

That’s “exactly the type of information ...