Last week, the Federal Trade Commission announced it would be launching an investigation into why grocery prices remain high, even as the pace of inflation has slowed.
FTC chair Lina Khan said she will request the investigation in order to know more about retail chains’ pricing tactics. She made the request during the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission virtual public meeting of the Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing (Strike Force) to discuss enforcement actions taken to lower prices for Americans.
“We want to make sure that major businesses are not exploiting their power to inflate prices for American families at the grocery store,” Kahn said, according to a post-meeting statement.
Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) highlighted the all-of-USDA approach to tackling food and agricultural pricing challenges for farmers and consumers alike, including an ongoing investigative study on retail concentration and market practices as well as landmark efforts to modernize the Packers & Stockyards Act rulebook and build a competition partnership with state attorneys general.
This recent investigation follows a FTC report released back in March that showed the causes behind grocery supply chain disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The report found that large market participants, like grocery wholesales, retailers, and large corporations, accelerated and distorted the negative effects associated with supply chain disruptions.
The FTC report information came from publicly available data and orders the FTC issued in 2021 under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act to Walmart Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Kroger Co., C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., McLane Co, Inc. Procter & Gamble Co., Tyson Foods, Inc., and Kraft Heinz Co.
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