DOJ Proposes Settlement in Agri Stats Antitrust Case

The U.S. Department of Justice proposed a settlement on Thursday in a Biden-era antitrust lawsuit against Agri Stats, an Indiana-based analytics firm accused of facilitating higher prices for chicken, pork and turkey through data sharing among meat processors. The agreement, which requires federal court approval, drew praise from department officials as a step toward lowering grocery costs but faced sharp criticism from antitrust advocates who called it inadequate.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2023 by the department under the Biden administration, targeted Agri Stats and its subsidiary EMI Analytics for collecting detailed, nonpublic information on prices, costs and output from competing meat processors and distributing it exclusively to those companies. Prosecutors alleged this created an information imbalance, as buyers like grocers and restaurants lacked access, allowing processors to coordinate and raise prices. The case involved the Justice Department and attorneys general from six states and was set for trial soon after the settlement proposal.

Under the 79-page agreement, Agri Stats must make the vast majority of its data available to interested U.S. buyers on...