FTC to launch inquiry into high grocery prices

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan announced Thursday that the FTC and Department of Justice will launch in inquiry into high grocery prices.

Khan made the announcement at the first public meeting of the Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing, where representatives from the FTC and DOJ discussed a wide range of consumer protection topics.

High grocery prices is an issue Khan said she consistently hears about from consumers. 

“Too often, people feel like too much of their paycheck is going towards covering the basics, like meat or bread or eggs,” she said.

Khan said that many of the products consumers purchase most often, such as cereal, pasta, and potatoes, cost less now than they did last year, “But it still isn’t clear that Americans are fully getting the competitive, affordable prices that they deserve,” she said. 

“Grocery prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, due in large part to the higher costs and supply chain disruptions,” she said. “But we also know that in the years since, costs have fallen and supply chains have improved. Many items, though, are still too costly, and many large grocery chains are still raking in enormous profits.”

Khan said the FTC and the Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing is “determined to understand why.”

Related:FTC files lawsuit to stop Kroger, Albertsons merger

“To make sure we can do so, I'll be asking the commission to join me in launching an inquiry into grocery prices to shed light on why it is that prices and profits remain so high, even as costs appear to come down,” Khan said. 

“We want to make sure that major businesses are not exploiting their power to inflate prices for American families at the grocery store. We’ll continue using all of our tools to expose and crack down on any underhanded tactics that companies may be using to raise prices on the basic things that Americans need the most. 

“We have to use the full extent of our reviews to stop any corporate law breaking that inflates costs for American families,” she said. “This is essential work that will help ensure that Americans can be free from economic coercion and indignities in the marketplace.”

Khan has already put grocers under heavy scrutiny this year with the launch of a multi-state lawsuit to block the $24.6 billion Kroger, Albertsons merger. Hearings are set to begin on that case on Aug. 26 in Portland, Ore. 

The merger has also been challenged separately by attorneys general in Colorado and Washingston state.