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US President Donald Trump has directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate major meatpacking companies over alleged price manipulation in the beef market, citing concerns about collusion and the impact on American ranchers.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had “asked the DOJ to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who are driving up the price of beef through illicit collusion, price fixing and price manipulation”.

He added that the move was intended to defend US cattle producers: “We will always protect our American ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by Majority Foreign Owned Meat Packers, who artificially inflate prices and jeopardise the security of our Nation’s food supply.”

Attorney general Pam Bondi confirmed on X that the probe was under way, stating: “Our investigation is underway! My Antitrust Division led by @AAGSlater has taken the lead in partnership with our friend @SecRollins at @USDA”.

Assistant attorney general Abigail Slater, who heads the DOJ’s antitrust division, will lead the probe alongside Brooke Rollins, the US agriculture secretary. Rollins also posted on X calling for “transparency, accountability and a fair market that rewards those who actually raise and produce our beef – not the corporate middlemen gaming the system”.

The announcement follows a period of sustained high beef prices in the US, with costs rising amid reduced cattle herds and strong consumer demand.

The Justice Department has not disclosed which companies are under investigation. That said, according to Reuters, Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS USA and National Beef Packing Company – which together handle the majority of US grain-fed cattle – slaughter about 85% of those that become steaks, beef roasts and other cuts of meat sold in supermarkets.