KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A nationwide potato cartel – the "OPEC of potatoes" – fixes prices and production to line its own pockets, a grocers association claims in a federal antitrust complaint.
Associated Wholesale Grocers sued the United Potato Growers of America (UPGA), the United Potato Growers of Idaho (UPGI) and 20 other entities.
The defendants own more than 80 percent of the potato acreage in the United States, and used OPEC as a model, according to the complaint.
"Defendants analogized their potato cartel to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ('OPEC') – the notorious petroleum supply-reduction and price-fixing cartel composed of various foreign nations. Defendants suggested that they should 'study' the OPEC model and their organization was referred to as the 'OPEC of Potatoes,'" the complaint states.
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