South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Thursday that it has slapped some 77 billion won ($68.7 million) in fines on 11 feed companies for price rigging that hurts local livestock farmers.
  

According to the Fair Trade Commission, the feed companies that control 43 percent of the local market have colluded to rig the prices of pig, cattle and chicken feed 16 times between October 2006 and November 2010.
  

"The companies worked together to set guidelines for marking up and lowering prices," the corporate regulator said. During the cited period, domestic feed prices have surged 60 percent.
  

Among the offenders, Cargill Agri Purina, the local subsidiary of U.S.-based Cargill, was slapped with 24.9 billion won in fines, followed by 9.3 billion won for CJ Cheijedang and 7.1 billion for Jeil Holdings.
  

The other firms include Jeil Holdings Co., Harim Holdings Co., and Farmsco.
 

The price collusion is significant because it can directly impact the bottom line of livestock farmers, as animal feed accounts for a larger portion of costs for livestock farmers, with price hikes hurting their profitability, the FTC said. (Yonhap)