US bacon prices to increase as virus kills pigs

Bacon prices in the US are set to increase, after a virus not seen in the US before, emerged as a threat to pork production.

According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, a pound of bacon averaged $5.46 in February, up 13 per cent from year ago. Ham and pork chops prices too had gone up.

Scientists believe the virus had originated from China.  The virus has killed nearly 6.8 million pigs in 27 states since last May, but how the virus made it to the US remains a mystery.

Meanwhile, as the federal government was looking into how such viruses might spread, the pork industry, in a bid to avert future outbreaks, has committed $1.7 million to research the disease.

The US is a top producer and exporter of pork, but could see a 7 per cent production decline this year as against the last - the biggest drop in more than 30 years, according to a recent report from Rabobank, which focuses on the food, beverage and agribusiness industries.

Farmer and longtime veterinarian Craig Rowles despite taking steps to stop the disease from spreading to his farm in Iowa, saw 13,000 pigs succumb to the disease in a matter of weeks, most of them less than 2 weeks old, AP reports. The farm produces around 150,000 pigs each year.

The first reports came from the Midwest, and the states with the worst affected states: Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Illinois. Canada and Mexico have also reported the PED outbreak.

In certain states, veterinarians are now required to certify that pigs coming in are virus-free, while China that had seen repeated outbreaks since the 1980s.

Companies are racing for developing a vaccine, the federal government had to however approve one as yet. According to commentators, while the mass deaths had come as a blow for farmers, the financial impact to them might be limited as pork prices were rising to make up for the loss of animals.