FTC will investigate stubbornly high food prices

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan said on Thursday that her agency will investigate the high cost of groceries in the United States as supermarket chains generate “enormous profits.”

Here written down on a board FTC and Justice Department public meeting that the cost of groceries “has skyrocketed during the pandemic, largely due to higher costs and supply chain disruptions.”

“But we also know that since then costs have fallen and supply chains have improved,” she said. “However, many items are still very expensive and many large supermarket chains still make huge profits. The FTC is determined to understand why. To make sure we can do this, I will ask [the] Commission to join me in launching an inquiry into food prices, to clarify why prices and profits remain so high, even when costs appear to have fallen.”

A report released by the FTC earlier this year highlighted expanding margins as a major factor in stubbornly high food prices.

“Some companies appear to have used rising costs as an opportunity to further increase prices to increase their profits, and profits have remained high even as supply chain pressures have eased. Large retailers and wholesalers with considerable influence over their suppliers have been able to take more aggressive steps to protect themselves,” FTC investigators said.

The consumer price index, a common measure of inflation, fell for the first time since the pandemic in June, according to data released last month.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story