Price Fixing in meat (all types), eggs, and dairy industries

[noboundaries]

The investigations are starting on artificially inflated prices in the above industries. I just read a third article today about why prices are so high. I have no problem when supply/demand are impacted by market forces, but to artificially jack up prices, manipulate supply/demand, and collude to do so, that gets my blood boiling.

I won't put links here, but a quick Internet search will be an easy find.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Kroger just posted their profit margin as 1.5%. That was for their stock holders, a legal thing. So if prices are being artificially increased then it’s before the grocery store, and I know producers are not doing it.

 

[DougE]

So if prices are being artificially increased then it’s before the grocery store, and I know producers are not doing it. The meat packers is where the money is.

Producers take what we get at auction. Doesn't matter what it cost us to bring the animals to market, we get whatever the buyers are willing to pay. The markup happens after us and before the retailers. The meat packers is where the money is.

 

[jcam222]

Kroger just posted their profit margin as 1.5%. That was for their stock holders, a legal thing. So if prices are being artificially increased then it’s before the grocery store, and I know producers are not doing it.

Kroger executive admits company gouged prices above inflation

Kroger's senior director for pricing Andy Groff said the grocery giant had raised prices for eggs and milk beyond inflation levels.

www.newsweek.com

With them admitting this I find it hard to believe it didn't touch other foods including meat. I'd further say most of the big box grocers were and are doing it

 

[indaswamp]

Most grocery store models have 1/3 of products reduced prices, 1/3 at comparable pricing avg., and 1/3 of products the price is jacked up.

I m not defending the companies actions if indeed it was price gouging....but there are no figures to define that term in the article, it is left to the imagination....

 

[indaswamp]

They also have some items that are "loss leaders" to get you through the door. A lot of times it is milk. They have to make up that loss somewhere else in the store pricing to make money.

 

[indaswamp]

Here locally, pork butts @ 99 cents / pound is a loss leader at a lot of stores in the fall. They usually jack up the price on beef when they drop it on the butts.....

 

[cptnding]

Kroger executive admits company gouged prices above inflation

Kroger's senior director for pricing Andy Groff said the grocery giant had raised prices for eggs and milk beyond inflation levels.

www.newsweek.com

With them admitting this I find it hard to believe it didn't touch other foods including meat. I'd further say most of the big box grocers were and are doing it

I dunno man. I'd like to see the context in which that statement was made. I did a google search and couldn't find anything other that repetition of this news story. There are no facts. Just a statement that was extracted followed by opinions.
Lord knows I'm no fan of big corporations and what that brings. Back in the 90's Walmart came to the small town I'm from and in short order most small businesses were gone. Prices were lower but I'm not so sure it was a benefit in the end. Service and relationships were gone as well.
These days it seems hard to believe anything. The news is slanted from all sides, the government refuses to tell the truth no matter who is in power, and big companies no longer have the motivation to be the best at whatever they do.
Seems like everyone is lying about everything. Journalism is apparently dead and gone. It used to be about presenting the facts and letting you form your opinion. Freedom of the press was ingrained in the constitution specifically to hold politicians feet to the fire. They are not doing that. Fox, CNN, Msnbc, Abc, Cbs, ect are all picking sides. Not cool.
Probably always been that way but wasn't as much right in your face as these days.
Sorry for the rant. Smoke on

 

[chef k-dude]

Almost all news media should be second guessed these days. People talk about the good ole days, but we were just too naive to realize three television networks and a handful of "newspapers of record" could be "shaping" the news. Surely Walter Cronkite was pure as the driven snow...right? There WAS a time before the conglomerates bought up all the "local" papers when you could get an alternate take on the mainstream propaganda, but that is mostly all gone. People read their local paper...reading the national news, and for many it never occurs to them its a syndicate feed from Reuters, AP, Blooberg, MSN, etc.. Same propaganda from the same mainstream "shapers", only it looks better somehow with your local paper's name at the heading.

It would not surprise me to find out there is a conspiracy to raise prices. The Plandemic was an excellent opportunity for companies to raise prices...that never recede when the Plandemic does. Funny how when fuel and energy went nuts, lets say 10 years ago, companies were all telling us they had to raise prices; but did we ever see those drop when energy dropped as the U.S. briefly became a net exporter of energy...I'll carefully say...6 years ago? Where were the celebrations and companies happily telling us now that energy is cheaper, "here's your lower prices now that fuel is less expensive". I dont recall that. Nope, now that we are in an inflation and energy cost quagmire AGAIN, its an excuse to raise prices on top of the raised prices not so long ago.

As with most "news" these days, I would take corporate profit reports with some skepticism. There is a lot of skimming that happens before they reach the "bottom line". It may be legal skimming like non-profit stuff that goes more in the pockets of those employed by the non-profit (invented jobs for friends and family) than to the supposed "cause", but there is a LOT of accounting shenanigans. Suppliers like DougE above dont have as much opportunity for that other than expense and loss write-offs. It's the large corporations that have the most "fluff" that the shareholders never see.

In my opinion...

 

[wisconsin ram]

I dunno man. I'd like to see the context in which that statement was made. I did a google search and couldn't find anything other that repetition of this news story. There are no facts. Just a statement that was extracted followed by opinions.
Lord knows I'm no fan of big corporations and what that brings. Back in the 90's Walmart came to the small town I'm from and in short order most small businesses were gone. Prices were lower but I'm not so sure it was a benefit in the end. Service and relationships were gone as well.
These days it seems hard to believe anything. The news is slanted from all sides, the government refuses to tell the truth no matter who is in power, and big companies no longer have the motivation to be the best at whatever they do.
Seems like everyone is lying about everything. Journalism is apparently dead and gone. It used to be about presenting the facts and letting you form your opinion. Freedom of the press was ingrained in the constitution specifically to hold politicians feet to the fire. They are not doing that. Fox, CNN, Msnbc, Abc, Cbs, ect are all picking sides. Not cool.
Probably always been that way but wasn't as much right in your face as these days.
Sorry for the rant. Smoke on

Right about that my Dad was a assistant manager at a grocery store for about 10 years and I currently work at one stocking shelves and I can tell you that grocery stores don't make a lot of profit about 2 % most of their cost is for labor, The middle man gets the profit on meat and The grocery stores make their money on volume. The news media is just using there statements for political influence to get the election outcome they want.

 

[DougE]

The middle man gets the profit on meat

Like I said, the meat packers is where the markup happens. Cattle farmers ain't inflating prices because they can't control the auction prices at the stockyards. We get what we get.

Commercial farms are another story. They have contracts directly with the distribution chain, but the buyer is still the one controlling the price.

 

[sandyut]

its infuriating for sure!! a few years ago the meat packing plants got caught price fixing, but I cant say I saw prices go down after. its all scammy and s**ty IMO.

 

[Nodak21]

That’s what happens when a handful of companies control the entire meat packing industry. Doesn’t help that we let China buy and control just about 100% of packing plants in the USA.

 

[DougE]

Commercial farms are another story. They have contracts directly with the distribution chain, but the buyer is still the one controlling the price.

This sector is where most of the animal abuse complaints arise as well. It really is of no benefit for a small producer to sell poor animals at auction.