Just about everyone besides vegetarians and other meat-loathing separatists are bacon-holics, but that might all change with the soaring prices for the pig.
Due to a declining supply of pigs caused by a deadly virus that spread across 30 states since the outbreak last year, retail prices for bacon have increased 10 percent in 2014 to a little over $6 a pound.
That’s definitely a pricey-pig!
Wholesale prices for pork belly have also doubled since April, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The current prices for pork are the highest since 1980.
But will these sky-high prices really keep bacon junkies away from their true love? Probably not. Bacon sales rose 11 percent to $4.2 billion in the 12 months ending July 5th.
“I don’t think we’re going to see real damage to bacon demand at all,” said Steve Meyer, president of Des Moines, Iowa-based Paragon Economics Inc., who expects hog slaughter to drop by about 10.5 percent this month as the most significant losses from the virus are realized.
With farms running low on pigs and prices flying high, we’re sure people aren’t too worried about how much bacon will cost them, but rather how good it will taste on just about everything.
SOURCE: Bloomberg.com | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
