America's Stockpile of Bacon Highest Since 1971

Plentiful National Pork Supply Sends Price Of Bacon Down 25 Percent Since Last Year

Bacon-lovers, you've got some work to do.

According to a report in Bloomberg, America hasn't kept up its consumption compared to the amount of bacon we're producing. That's led to a spike in inventory for the amount of uneaten bacon that's been keeping cool in refrigerated warehouses since Sept. 30. According to the report released by the USDA on Tuesday, more than 40 million pounds of pork bellies, the cut that is used to make bacon, has gone uneaten so far, making it the largest stockpile of the cured meat since 1971.

As it turns out, pork production during the summer months surged through September, after hog farmers expected a high demand for meat imports from China, where the African Swine Flu has decimated herds there. More than 77.7 million head were produced as of Sept. 1, a record for September and the highest herd count since 1943.

The demand for pork bellies however, is mostly domestic, which has led to the oversupply of everyone's favorite breakfast meat. Cuts for ham are still in high demand overseas and exports have surged in recent weeks as China begins to pick up imports of pork.

Photo: Getty Images


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