Canada: Less bacon in packs sold, price unchanged
It is common knowledge that the price of pork in North America is currently soaring. Restricted supply, increased feed costs and Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea (EPDv) have all played a part in pork price hikes in recent months. As a result, food companies have reduced bacon packs but kept the prices the same as before.
According to a report by the Huffingtonpost, despite the price hikes, some companies are not upping their bacon prices, the companies have simply reduced the weight of bacon packs while the prices remain unchanged. This means fewer slices of bacon per pack. The reduced weight of bacon packs, however, was not openly announced to customers. Instead of the usual 500-gram packs, food companies are selling 375-gram packs for the same price as the 500-gram packs it sold before.
Pork prices in the US have gone up by 7 to 10% since a year ago due to the spread of PEDv. It was first detected in May last year in the US, and has now spread to Canada.
“The price spike that happened over the last couple of months is probably more … due to the virus than any other thing,” said Derek Brewin, an associate professor of agribusiness and agricultural economics at the University of Manitoba.
PEDv has caused limited pork supplies, hog producers across North America also went out of business because of lower prices and higher feed costs.
PEDV kills young pigs, however, does not affect humans.
Source: Huffingtonpost
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