(Photo : Photo by PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP via Getty Images))
Minnesota grows more sugar beets than any other state in the US. The sugar industry, which is dominated by a handful of large companies, has faced antitrust scrutiny for decades.
Three antitrust lawsuits filed by food businesses in a Minnesota federal court this week allege several of the biggest US sugar-producing companies of conspiracy to fix prices.
The lawsuits named United Sugars, which includes American Crystal Sugar, the Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative Domino Sugar, Cargill, as well as several producers and a commodity data company.
The plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuits include Great Harvest Bread in Duluth, Morelos Bakery in St. Paul, and the Connecticut restaurant group WNT, outlet Valley News reported.
"Since at least 2019, the Producing Defendants have had an ongoing agreement to artificially raise, fix, stabilize or maintain Granulated Sugar prices in the United States," one of the lawsuits alleges.
"To effectuate this agreement, the Producing Defendants engaged in price signaling and exchanges of detailed, accurate, non-public, competitively sensitive information."
The legal actions, alluding to similar accusations, aim to obtain court orders preventing the sugar companies from engaging in illegal activities and seeking unspecified financial compensation.
As the largest producer of sugar beets in the United States, Minnesota's sugar industry is dominated by a few major corporations. All of which have been under antitrust investigation for decades.
A 1978 consent decree prohibited sugar companies from discussing future prices or coordinating sugar sales.
United Sugars called the claims baseless.
"While it is our longstanding practice to not comment extensively on litigation, we believe this case has no merit, and we will vigorously defend ourselves from its baseless accusations," the company said in a statement.
Minnetonka-based agribusiness giant Cargill also denied the allegations in a statement.
"We take pride in conducting our business with integrity," Cargill said. "We compete vigorously but do so fairly, ethically, and in compliance with the law."
