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The administration of President Joe Biden is seeking to decrease inflation-linked high meat prices by making moves to enhance competition in the meat industry. President Biden will reportedly conduct a virtual meeting with independent ranchers and farmers to discuss the initiatives. It is part of a larger action to drop the high inflation rates that have impacted his approval ratings. Moreover, meat prices have risen 16% from a year ago with a high jump of 20.9% in beef prices. Point to be noted that President Biden issued an executive order in July instructing the Department of Agriculture to look more forcefully into potential breaches of the 1921 Packers and Stockyards Act aimed at protecting buyers and fair competition.

However, the Biden administration is now building off that order by seeking meat processing plants, which can influence how much farmers are paid and how much buyers are charged for meat. The top 4 processing companies control 85% of the beef market and the top 4 poultry companies control 54% of the market. The White House said the 4 biggest firms for pork also control 70% of the market. Biden intends to bring up plans to use $1 billion from the COVID-19 relief package to distribute funds to independent meat processors and provide additional funding to train new industry workers and improve conditions. He will also highlight new rules that will be issued for meatpackers and requirements to label meat as a Product of the USA.

The White House statement said the event will happen on Monday afternoon as higher-than-expected inflation has thwarted Biden’s agenda. However, consumer prices rose 6.8% in November over the prior 12 months and a 39-year high. Inflation has degraded Biden’s public approval. The Justice Department and the Agriculture Department will reportedly launch a joint effort to make it easier to report anti-competitive actions to the government. The administration will also seek to improve the transparency of the cattle market. The effort is part of a broader attempt to regain control of America’s economic narrative. Biden will have an opportunity to highlight the economy’s strengths with the December jobs report being released on Friday.