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Can Americans afford to bring home the bacon after the major price inflation?
SHORTAGE: A pork shortage is expected to occur in 2013.
By Kate Weggeland, Staff Writer
Bacon production dwindles as a result of the drought. Due to the shrinking sizes of pig herds, the British National Pig Association (BNPA) has announced that “a global shortage of bacon is unavoidable.” Skyrocketing grain costs have made feeding pig herds difficult and expensive.
As a result of the decline in pork production, the price of bacon and other pork products will increase substantially. Farmers with large herds are facing major losses and are slaughtering their herds “at the fastest rate since 2009,” Elizabeth Campbell, a Channel 4 News correspondent, reported. From January through August, 73.3 million pigs were processed, the greatest number of pork production in three years. The BNPA announced its prediction of pork shortage in hopes of increasing revenue by having British supermarkets buy the pork products at a high price.
However, the recent news about the bacon shortage is not groundbreaking to the United States Department of Agriculture. According to the department, monthly outlook reports have predicted that the decline in pork products through the next year are due to the major drought the United States experienced in late July.
“Because this year’s drought wreaked havoc on the world’s corn crops, the price of corn has risen substantially. And because corn is used, among many, many other things, as feed for pigs, it is more expensive for farmers to raise pigs. Farmers pass along those costs to stores, and perhaps even decide that they don’t want to be in the pork business anymore,” TIME magazine’s Brad Tuttle said.
Prices are lower for now. Pork costs will be at an all-time low as their retail price has dropped 25 percent in less than two years. Price inflation is expected to occur beginning late October.
Wholesale, as well as retail, prices are expected to rise to record highs by the end of 2013. Farmers are attempting to tighten their pork supplies by cutting their output, resulting in fewer pigs left for breeding. This increased price may be a major deciding factor for many chain restaurants. Either the restaurants will be forced to raise menu prices in order to cover for the cost deficit or replace pork with other items, such as chicken, on their menus.
The USDA has estimated that 2013’s pork production will decrease 1.3 percent from 2012’s total.
The drought that hit America hard during the summer has most definitely “changed the ballgame” for pork production “on a worldwide level,” Phil Borgic, a major pig producer, said.
Courtesy of postandcourier.com