Smithfield Foods stated on Wednesday, June 30, it will pay US$83 million to settle litigation that accused several companies of conspiring to limit supply in the US$20 billion-a-year US pork market to inflate prices and their own profits, reported Reuters.
The settlement with Smithfield resolves antitrust claims by “direct” purchasers such as Maplevale Farms that accused the nation’s largest pork companies of having fixed prices beginning in 2009.
Smithfield’s settlement requires approval by Chief Judge John Tunheim of the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
Keira Lombardo, Smithfield’s chief administrative officer, said the settlement eliminates a “substantial portion” of the Smithfield, Virginia-based company’s exposure in the litigation.
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