Grocery store operator Winn-Dixie Stores sued Cargill, JBS, Tyson Foods, and other beef producers, alleging they conspired to fix product prices.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, claimed that the companies committed a per se violation of antitrust laws by artificially constraining the supply of beef to inflate prices.
The defendants “agreed to reduce their cattle purchases and slaughter volumes for the purpose and effect of increasing their margins,” according to the plaintiffs, including a Winn-Dixie affiliate, Bi-Lo Holding.
The average spread between the farm value of cattle and wholesale value of ...