photo David Mcglynn
Bacon prices soar due to pig shortage
By Amber Sutherland, Daniel Prendergast and Chris Perez
August 5, 2014 | 8:54pm
Bacon lovers are getting socked in the piggy bank.
City butchers and restaurateurs are beginning to squeal for mercy after the price of bacon rose to the highest it’s been in nearly 30 years — thanks to high demand and a shortage of healthy pigs.
“We’ve had to raise the prices in small increments in the last month,” said Vincent Santiago, an employee at Staubitz meat market in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
The pork surge began last year when a virus swept through US farms in about 30 states and killed millions of pigs.
Bacon prices have shot up around 10 percent this year alone and reached an all-time high of $6.11 per pound, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Santiago said a half-pound slab of bacon now costs about $3.99, as opposed to last month when they were about a dollar cheaper.
“We don’t like to raise prices, but this is what we do for a living,” he added. “People are still buying it.”
https://nypost.com/2014/08/05/bacon-prices-are-sky-high-during-pig-shortage/
