“The proposal calling for a ban on grocery price gouging is a solution in search of a problem,” he said.
“Our independent grocers, already operating on extremely thin margins, are hurting from the same inflationary pressure points as their customers. Labor, rent, swipe fees, utilities; you name it, the price has increased. But what’s really hurting our local, independent grocers, is the lack of fair competition with big box retailers, who leverage their influence in ways that your independent grocer down the street can’t, leading to increased prices for everyone else.
“We’re hoping the next Administration (and the current one) will look closely at anticompetitive behaviors, including price discrimination, that are increasing prices for independent grocers and the community members they serve,” Ferrara said.
“We firmly believe that rather than proposing new legislation far-off in the future, the government should be enforcing the Robinson-Patman Act, a key antitrust law that already exists, but has been ignored for decades as big chains unfairly wield their influence.
“If Washington is serious about helping lower prices for consumers, it can help in three important ways: lower skyrocketing swipe fees, rein in excessive and burdensome regulations, and enforce antitrust laws like the Robinson-Patman Act that enhance price competition amongst retailers, regardless of size or location,” Ferrara said.
Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts also said Harris’s proposed price gouging ban misses the mark.
“Consumers have been impacted by high prices due to inflation on everything from services to rent to automobiles, not just at the grocery store. A federal ban on price gouging does not address the real causes of inflation,” Potts said.
“The Harris campaign rhetoric unfairly targets the meat and poultry industry and does not match the facts. Food prices continue to come down from the highs of the pandemic. Prices for meat are based on supply and demand. Avian Influenza, a shortage of beef cattle and high input prices like energy and labor are all factors that determine prices at the meat case.
“Prices that livestock producers receive for their animals are also heavily influenced by supply and demand. Prices for cattle producers especially are at record highs, surpassing the 2014-2015 previous record highs. Today, well into 2024, cattle prices remain at record levels because the US has the lowest cattle inventory since Harry Truman was president,” she said.
“Major meat companies have reported losses during the Biden-Harris Administration, with some closing facilities and laying off workers.”
National Chicken Council Interim President Gary Kushner also responded to Harris’s comments.
“Americans are seeing inflation in nearly every part of their livelihoods – rent, gas, automobiles, furniture – not just in the meat case,” he said.
“Chicken prices are largely affected by supply and demand, by major input costs like corn, soybeans, energy, packaging, transportation, and by fiscal policy and burdensome government regulations. Not price gouging.
“It’s time for this administration to stop using the meat and poultry industry as a scapegoat and a distraction for the root causes of inflation and the significant challenges facing our economy.”
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