Cargill Agrees to Pay $32.5 Million to Settle Price-Fixing Case Over Turkeys 

January 23, 2025

Cargill Inc. has reached a $32.5 million settlement in a broad class-action lawsuit over price-fixing in turkey production.

The potential settlement comes in a case led by a collection of companies that buy large volumes of turkey products. They filed a lawsuit initially in 2019 against major turkey producers, which also includes a range of companies such as Butterball, Hillshire Brands, Hormel, Kraft Foods, Jennie-O Turkey, Perdue Farms and Prestage Farms. The lawsuit alleges turkey processor conspired as part of an illegal price-fixing scheme by exchanging information to reduce supplies or suppress competition.

The turkey case is one of multiple lawsuits over the poultry and pork industry's use of Indiana-based Agri Stats, which is also a defendant in the case. The lawsuits, which includes litigation against Agri Stats by the Department of Justice, allege companies were able to use Agri Stats reports to adjust their prices and production based on reports filed by competitors and compiled by Agri Stats.

The plaintiffs filed a motion last week in the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois asking the judge to approve the Cargill settlement. The settlement will go through a process over the next six months before reaching final approval.

The proposed settlement states "Cargill has agreed to provide meaningful cooperation" which will assist plaintiffs in their claims against other major turkey processors that have not settled claims.

Along with a $4.6 million settlement from Tyson in 2022, the total settlements would reach $37.13 million.

The settlement values were based on market share. Tyson's share of the turkey market is roughly 4%-5% while Cargill's share is in the 20%-21% range.

Cargill did not respond to a request for comment about the settlement.

Source: DTN