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A few months ago we took a close look at the price of chicken at the grocery store, comparing the price between prepared rotisserie chickens against cooking one yourself at home. While the results were mixed, a new lawsuit alleges that the overall price of chicken at the supermarket has been purposely marked up.
According to Bloomberg, the federal class action claims that the poultry industry has been purposely limiting production in order to drive up the price of chicken. The 113-page lawsuit says that the price of broilers has been on the rise since 2008, which is allegedly when producers in the $29 billion industry conspired together to launch a coordinated strategy, creating a price-fixing scheme by raising fewer chickens and even buying each other's product.
"We believe there are real anomalies in the broiler chicken market that have increased prices," Joe Bruckner, a lawyer who is working on the case, told Bloomberg. Meanwhile, chicken producers—including Tyson, Pilgrim's Pride, Simmons Foods, Koch Foods, Cagle's, and Wayne Farms—argue higher corn prices are the cause for their higher priced poultry. Of course these companies intend to fight the plaintiffs, who are looking for triple damages and a final end to the price markups.
Only time (and a judge) will tell with this one. But maybe we should all switch to beef and pork for a while.
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