July 12, 2022

Executives from US poultry firms found not guilty in price-fixing case

Executives from major US poultry companies Pilgrim's Pride and Claxton Poultry Farms were found not guilty for fixing prices in the poultry industry, Yahoo! Finance reported.

Roger Austin, a former vice president of Pilgrim's Pride, and the former chief executives of Pilgrim's Pride, William Lovett and Jayson Penn, were all found not guilty. Both Claxton Poultry president Mikell Fries and vice president Scott Brady were found not guilty.

After two mistrials, the government dropped its price-fixing charges against five of the original ten executives.

Pilgrim's Pride agreed to pay a US$110.5 million fine in 2020 as part of a plea agreement with the US Justice Department regarding allegations of price-fixing for chicken products. The majority owner of Pilgrim's Pride is the Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA.

According to Wells Fargo research, the cost of chicken wings and breasts have increased by 38% and 24% respectively, since February year-on-year.

-      Yahoo! Finance