Bacon butty prices soar amid booming post-Brexit demand from China
Meat suppliers have pushed bacon prices by up to 38%.
Diners will have to pay through the nose for a British bacon sandwich these days, as smoked bacon prices take a battering from effects of Brexit and burgeoning China demand.
According to a report by Beacon Purchasing, the first six months of 2016 exports of British pig meat have spiked by 40,000 tonnes YoY. On top of this, over half of EU pork exports—1.2m tonnes—have gone to China, revealing a 60% spike on the same period last year.
The boom in Chinese demand has been fuelled by recent floods, which have drowned the Chinese domestic pork industry. Moreover, the devalued British pound post-Brexit has made British bacon more attractive and affordable to import.
The Chinese spike in demand has pushed some UK suppliers to drive up the price of a pack of British smoked bacon by as much as 38%. Beacon reported that it has boosted prices by as much as 19% per pound for bacon products, which they predict will continue for the foreseeable future.
The blows keep coming for British food staples as well, as chips prices are poised to rise following currency issues and continued flooding in Europe, resulting in inflationary pressures. Beacon predicted that this will also slam impact crop quality, quantity and therefore price.
“The combination of such huge demand for British pork from China and the devaluing of sterling following Brexit is impacting our breakfast tables," shared Emma Warrington, Senior Food Buyer at Beacon.
"Figures from our butchery suppliers show the price of British bacon rising, in some cases substantially, with data from Birtwistles showing that the spike in demand was equal to an additional 30,000 tonnes in the first six months of 2016. All of this means we might be paying a higher price for a bacon sandwich for the foreseeable future," added Warrington.
