WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice has expanded its investigation into beef affordability, now targeting eight of the nation’s largest grocery retailers.
Assistant Attorney General Woodward sent letters to the following companies regarding recent increases in retail beef prices:
Kroger
Publix
Walmart
Albertsons
Aldi
Ahold Delhaize USA
Costco
Amazon
“Beef prices are a critical concern to Americans, and a priority for this Justice Department,” the DOJ said in a statement.
The department is seeking information about the companies’ beef pricing, costs, profit margins and purchasing practices.
The investigation comes as beef prices continue to climb, leaving shoppers frustrated by what they’re seeing at the grocery store.
Beef prices rising faster than inflation
Dr. Tucker Omberg, an economics professor at Florida State College at Jacksonville, said consumers are not imagining the increase.
“If you feel like beef costs more, that’s definitely not in your head,” Omberg said.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows beef prices have been climbing much faster than overall inflation and faster than prices for meat, poultry and eggs.
Beef prices have been climbing much faster than overall inflation, indicated by the blue line on your screen, even faster than prices for fish, poultry and eggs. (WJXT)
That translates to what shoppers are seeing at the grocery store.
“If you look at beef prices compared to either the overall CPI, which tracks inflation, or the CPI for food, or even the CPI for meat and poultry, beef prices are rising much faster,” Omberg said.
Why is beef so expensive?
The DOJ is looking at whether retailers may have engaged in anti-competitive behavior that helped keep beef prices high.
But Omberg said the available data does not necessarily point to grocery stores being the main culprit.
Wholesale beef prices, what retailers pay for the product, have been rising at a similar rate to the prices consumers pay.
Data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics show wholesale prices are rising at a very similar rate to the prices paid by consumers. (WJXT)
“The wholesale prices are rising at a very similar rate to the prices paid by consumers,” Omberg said. “So that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not collusion, but it makes the idea that this is collusion by grocery stores seem pretty unlikely.”
The DOJ’s investigation actually began in May with the nation’s largest meatpackers.
Four companies, JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods and National Beef, control more than 85% of U.S. beef processing, according to the DOJ.
Omberg said that concentration could be a more important piece of the puzzle.
“There is a growing body of evidence that collusion among the actual meat packers has been increasing,” he said.
Omberg also pointed to several other factors that could be contributing to higher beef prices, including tariffs, drought, higher energy costs and the return of screwworm.
He said it is difficult to determine exactly how much each factor is contributing. For consumers hoping the DOJ investigation will lead to lower prices, Omberg said they may have to wait.
He does not expect the retail investigation alone to produce a noticeable drop in beef prices.
However, he said a pause on beef tariffs could eventually have an effect.
Trump expands beef imports
On Aug. 26, President Trump signed a proclamation increasing the amount of lean beef trimmings that can be imported into the United States at lower tariff rates, building on earlier action taken in February 2026.
The new proclamation adds 300,000 metric tons to the in-quota quantity of lean beef trimmings allowed under the U.S. beef import tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for the remainder of 2026. The imports will be distributed in three 30-day tranches — 100,000 metric tons each in September, October and November — on a first-come, first-served basis.
Trump cited several factors driving the need for action, including restrictions on live animal imports from Mexico due to the New World Screwworm, drought and wildfire conditions in cattle-producing regions and what the proclamation calls the prior administration’s “War on Cattle.”
“As President of the United States, I have a responsibility to ensure that hard-working Americans can afford to feed themselves and their families,” Trump wrote in the proclamation.
The proclamation also includes a price-monitoring provision. If imported lean beef trimmings are not being sold at least 25 percent below current market prices, Trump has indicated he may cancel the remaining import quotas to prevent what he described as a “windfall to foreign producers.”
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