The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its Interim Report: Competition and Fair Practices in Meat Merchandising. The report aims to assess how retail concentration and business practices affect competition in the food sector, with a focus on the meat industry—especially beef.
This report follows President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order No. 14036, which directed federal agencies to promote fair competition across industries. The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has spent several years studying meat markets, identifying areas of concern, and reviewing practices regulated by the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act).
The findings suggest that some current practices in the meat merchandising industry could hinder competition, highlighting the need for more enforcement of existing laws. The USDA emphasized the importance of addressing these issues to create fairer markets for both producers and consumers.
While the interim report does not propose new regulations, it signals the USDA’s intent to monitor the industry closely and enforce the P&S Act more vigorously to protect competition. The agency’s full findings and recommendations will be released in a future final report.
Read the Interim Report here.