US Department of Justice issues anti-trust fines for Pilgrim’s Pride
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp has agreed to pay a fine of more than $110 million after a Justice Department prove into alleged price-fixing in the sale of poultry products in the United States.
14 October 2020
3 minute read
By: Reuters reports that the anti-trust division of the Department of Justice fined the company for restraining competition, which affected three contracts for the sale of broiler chicken products to a customer in the United States.
In a statement issued after the penalty was agreed, Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Fabio Sandri said, “We are encouraged that today’s agreement concludes the anti-trust division’s investigation into [the company].”
The plea agreement is subject to the approval of the United States District Court of Colorado.
It comes after Pilgrim's then CEO Jayson Penn was indicted in June along with three other current and former industry executives on charges of seeking to fix the price of chickens. Penn has pleaded not guilty.
Pilgrim's said it expects to record the fine as a miscellaneous expense in its financial statements in the third quarter.
