US government investigating rising beef prices during coronavirus pandemic

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Prosecutors at the Department of Justice have been investigating for “months” allegations that the meatpacking industry may be coordinating or manipulating prices amid the coronavirus pandemic, a person familiar with the investigation told Fox News.

DOJ prosecutors are specifically looking at the four largest meatpackers in the country -- JBS, National Beef, Tyson Foods and Cargill – which control more than 80 percent of the country’s beef market, the source said.

Along with the DOJ, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue confirmed that the USDA is also investigating the beef price fluctuations.

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The meatpacking industry has been in the headlines recently amid concerns over both outbreaks of the novel coronavirus at facilities across the country and as prices for meat in grocery stores across the country rise even as the prices being paid to ranchers for cattle have been dropping steadily.

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Meatpacking industry insiders say the spike in prices is related to facilities operating a much smaller output level as they grapple with workers being out sick with the virus or are unable to higher new – mostly immigrant – workers because of restrictions on travel during the public health crisis.

Immigrants make up nearly 40 percent of the industry's roughly 470,000 workers, with higher concentrations in states like South Dakota, where they are 58 percent of workers, and Nebraska, where they're 66 percent, according to the nonprofit Migration Policy Institute. Estimates on immigrants working illegally in the country vary from 14 percent to the majority at some plants.

The North American Meat Institute did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

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Besides the shortage of workers, the coronavirus pandemic has also highlighted another issue that has concerned some lawmakers for long time: the fact that most Americans get their meat from a few very large companies despite efforts by lawmakers in Washington to decentralize the industry.

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There have long been concerns over the meatpacking industry becoming centralized and therefore favoring a select few companies. JBS attempted a large merger in 2007 but was rebuffed by the DOJ. Still, a handful of companies currently hold massive sway in the industry.

“It’s evidence that something isn’t right in the industry,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Politico. In April, Grassley called for a federal investigation into market manipulation and unfair practices within the cattle industry. He was joined by 19 other senators and 11 state attorneys general.