04:06 PM EDT, 03/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Federal Trade Commission said in a report Thursday that big grocery chains used their size advantage to keep shelves stocked during the pandemic, squeezing out smaller rivals, and raising prices.

"As the pandemic illustrated, a major shock to the supply chain can have cascading effects on consumers, including the prices they pay for groceries," FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement.

The report highlighted uneven impacts of supply chain disruptions, with smaller grocery retailers facing greater difficulties in obtaining products compared to larger firms. Larger firms also considered acquiring manufacturing suppliers, potentially increasing supply chain concentration. This could reinforce the dominance of major firms.

The data on grocery retail patterns during the pandemic show substantial increases in profits for food and beverage retailers, surpassing previous peaks. The rising prices at grocery stores are not solely attributed to retailers' own rising costs.

The report's findings are based on orders issued by the FTC in 2021 to Walmart ( WMT ) , Amazon.com ( AMZN ) , Kroger ( KR ) , C&S Wholesale Grocers, Associated Wholesale Grocers, McLane, Procter & Gamble ( PG ) , Tyson Foods ( TSN ) , and Kraft Heinz ( KHC ) . The findings are also based on publicly available data on industry costs and revenues.

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