Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan said on Thursday that the FTC will investigate high grocery prices in the US because supermarket chains are making “enormous profits.”
Clan Leader Jointly noted In a public meeting between the FTC and the Department of Justice (DOJ), it was reported that grocery prices “have skyrocketed during the pandemic, primarily due to rising costs and supply chain disruptions.”
“But we know that costs have come down and supply chains have improved in subsequent years,” she said. “But many items are still too expensive, and many of the big grocery chains still make huge profits. The FTC is determined to find out why. To that end, I [the] I ask the Commission to help me launch an investigation into food prices and determine why prices and profits remain so high even as costs appear to have fallen.”
An FTC report released earlier this year highlighted widening margins as a key factor in keeping food prices high.
“Some companies appear to have seized the opportunity of rising costs to further raise prices and increase their profits, with profits remaining high even after supply chain pressures eased. Large retailers and wholesalers with significant leverage over their suppliers could have acted more aggressively to protect themselves,” the FTC researchers said.
Data released last month showed the consumer price index, a common measure of inflation, fell in June for the first time since the pandemic.
