Corporate Concentration in the Meat Industry: Market Power and Competition Policy

This workshop will discuss the growing concentration in the meat industry and its implications for farmers globally. Through Margot Gibb’s work, we will discuss the consolidation of France’s meat sector and how limited access to slaughterhouses increases farmers’ dependency on dominant meat processors. Kagiso Zwane’s presentation will draw from his extensive work at The Competition Commission South Africa on the Poultry Market Inquiry, which identifies barriers to entry for smallholder farmers. Margot Gibbs is an investigative journalist at nonprofit newsroom Lighthouse Reports. She has led investigations into the hedge funds driving the cost-of-living crisis through food speculation, the US government's funding of attacks on pesticide scientists, and, most recently, the impact of monopolies on sustainable livestock farming. Before joining Lighthouse, she was a Senior Reporter for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and Finance Uncovered, where she reported on money flows underpinning corruption, labour and environmental abuses. Kagiso Zwane is a development economist working in competition and industrial policy. His work spans several sectors, including the agri-food industries. Until recently, Kagiso was a Senior Economist at the Competition Commission of South Africa, where he worked on pricing monitoring, merger assessment, antitrust investigations and policy research focused on essential food value chains. Kagiso holds a Master's in Applied Development Economics and a Bachelor's degree in Economics. He is participating in this workshop in a personal capacity.