Ag Briefs: Tyson Settles Anti-trust Case For $221.5M
Wisconsin State Farmer
Tyson Settles Anti-trust Case For $221.5M
A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveals Tyson Foods has agreed to pay $221.5M in a settlement in the broiler chicken antitrust civil price-fixing lawsuit against the company. The settlement will be reflected in the company’s first-quarter financial statement.
According to a Farm Journal report, the agreement allows Tyson to exit the price-fixing lawsuits filed against it and other poultry companies filed by customers and consumers. The settlement comes after Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Greeley, Colo., agreed to pay $75M in a settlement on Jan. 11. JBS USA is the majority shareholder of Pilgrim’s Pride.
Organic Food Sales Up 14.2 Percent in 2020
According to the 2020 Organic Produce Performance Report that was released by the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners organic produce sales increased in 2020 by 14.2 percent. That big increase came in spite of the economic turmoil caused by the economic shutdowns and many people finding themselves unemployed. Just to put it in perspective there was a 10.7 percent increase of conventional produce sales in 2020.
Another way to put the increase in demand for organic food is in dollars. Organic fresh produce food sales in 2020 saw a value of $8,542, 355,756 which was about $1 billion above 2019. Another interesting fact is that organic bananas represent the largest volume of organic food. They increased 16 percent in 2020. Packaged salads saw the largest sales category followed by berries ( strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) and then apples. Herbs and spices saw the largest increase in sales year over year being up 26 percent an
Buoyed by a fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, 2020 organic produce sales finished with a 14.2-percent increase over the previous year. This outpaced conventionally grown…