A judge in Missouri dismissed a lawsuit accusing agricultural giants like Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta, and others of price fixing. The suit accused the companies of conspiring with wholesalers and retail outlets to fix prices for seeds and crop protection chemicals, forcing farmers to pay higher prices.
A St. Louis-based judge says that the farmers and other plaintiffs failed to present sufficient allegations that the companies had violated U.S. antitrust laws. The plaintiffs said the companies schemed to collectively boycott electronic “crop inputs” platforms, depriving farmers and other purchasers of the ability to make effective cost comparisons for key agricultural materials.
The judge said the plaintiffs’ accusations did not rebut the companies’ claims that their practices served legitimate business purposes. She faulted the plaintiffs for advancing “mere generalizations” in their lawsuit.
Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta, and BASF all welcomed the court’s ruling in separate statements. All of the defendants denied any wrongdoing.
