August 31, 2005

Cargill cleared to buy Canada's Better Beef

Canada's Competition Bureau has given the clearance for Cargill to buy Better Beef, one of the largest beef processing companies in the country, after four months of studying the deal.

This decision arrived in the midst of protests from the National Farmers Union, which is worried about Cargill's current 50 percent share of the Canadian market.

However, the bureau, an independent law enforcement agency that promoted and maintained fair competition, felt that purchase would not reduce competition. It said that the two companies had only limited direct overlap in the purchase of cattle.

Moreover, the recent reopening of the US border to Canadian cattle provides a competitive outlet for producers, while local retailers will also still have access to sufficient supplies of beef and have the purchasing power to offset the impact of the merged companies, it added.

Cargill announced in April that it would buy Better Beef for an undisclosed amount.