Bacon prices are falling across the U.S., but they have yet to be chopped in Gainesville.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the price of pork is dropping following the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus that killed millions of pigs. After the pig population recovered, the increase in pork led to the drop in prices. So far, Gainesville hasn’t seen the shift.
“It was catastrophic a year ago, absolutely catastrophic,” said Chad Carr, associate professor in the UF Department of Animal Sciences.
As for the price of pork, Carr chalks it up to the laws of supply and demand.
“When we have a dip in supply and demand stays constant, you’re going to have an increase in cost,” he said.
Carr said pork prices are probably back to about where they were in January 2014.
The recent slump in prices is nothing new to Heavenly Ham general manager Kenny Kingswell, however.
“I have yet to see any kind of market change in pork price because I haven’t ordered anything in well over a month.” Kingswell said.
Heavenly Ham raised its prices in August, but Kingswell said he won’t know if the price of pork has decreased per pound until the next order comes in.
There are other reasons besides the virus to explain the changing price of pork.
Charles Moss, a professor in the UF Department of Food and Resource Economics, wrote in an email the reason for changes in pork prices in general is tied to the demand for corn.
The cost of corn affects meat because feed is about 60 percent the cost of raising livestock, Moss said.
“So the rising corn price put upward pressure on meat prices, particularly pork,” he said.
Bryan Ward, meat manager at Ward’s Supermarket, also hasn’t seen a dip in prices.
“It may take some time,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll see some changes.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 2/6/2015 under the headline “pork product prices drop after pig population recovery"]
David Farrell, 48, displays a steak to a Ward's Supermarket customer on Tuesday.
