The US is to broaden access to research in seeds and move to open up competition in cattle trading in a bid, its agriculture secretary said, to improve prices for consumers.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the moves can "open up new markets for farmers and deliver fairer, more competitive choices".

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to improve researcher access to seed germplasm, materials plant breeders need to create seed varieties.

The USDA also published an interim report that assesses competitive conditions in the meat retail industry.

The report identifies hidden fees and anti-competitive pricing strategies present in the beef market as a case study, it said.

Finally, the department revealed it is amid a new rulemaking effort under the Packers & Stockyards Act to “enhance price discovery and fairness in cattle markets”.

Vilsack added: "Today’s actions will help to deliver on more choice and lower costs for seeds used by farmers, more choice and lower food costs for consumers and a fairer marketplace for ranchers.”

Three years ago, the US government outlined plans to invest in the country’s meat-processing capacity and “revitalise” trading rules, arguing Covid-19 had demonstrated the industry needs more competition.

Competition in the US food industry and the issue of food prices have become an important political issues in recent quarters. The topic has risen up the political agenda as the US nears its presidential election, which is set to take place on 5 November.

In August, Kamala Harris pledged to ban what the presidential candidate called “price gouging” in food.

Harris proposed introducing a law to prohibit the practice, characterised as purportedly artificially raising prices to levels deemed unfair or unwarranted.

The Democrat nominee was addressing a crowd just two days after the latest inflation numbers were issued by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showing prices of food and soft drinks have come down to a single-digit rate from as high as 11.4% in August 2022.