Collusion practices in a west of Ireland livestock mart.

Collusion has been presented as a means which dealers use to buy cheaper and sell dearer. Mart authorities, farmers and dealers are of one mind regarding the legitimacy of this in livestock marketing. Disagreement between them concerns only the question of legitimate means. The authors ask why mart authorities, dealers and farmers do not conflict as much as might be expected over collusion, and have attempted to explain mart authorities being swayed by market considerations from stringently policing dealers; they also point to the numerous factors that contrive to mask the impact of collusion on price, making it more difficult for farmers to pin the blame for lower prices on colluding dealers.-after Authors