Bacon prices in Canada are nearly 27 per cent higher today than they were a year ago, as a crisis in the industry continues to push costs into the stratosphere.
Bloomberg reporter and former Bank of Canada economist Ilan Kolet tweeted the chart below, showing bacon prices surging by 5.8 per cent in June alone.
That’s based on StatsCan data showing overall inflation accelerating in Canada in June. The headline rate reached 2.4 per cent last month, the fastest pace of inflation in some two years.
That means Canadians’ real income growth has turned negative. Average wages grew by 1.9 per cent over the past year, too slow to make up for inflation.
The pork industry is suffering from an epidemic that is wiping out young pigs and driving prices higher, but other proteins are also seeing large price hikes.
Ground beef is up 15.4 per cent over the past year. Canned sockeye salmon is 23 per cent more expensive today than it was a year ago. Good news on the chicken front, though -- prices of poultry have stayed flat over the past year. Overall food prices grew 2.9 per cent.
There is one potential upside to those high bacon prices: It may make the bacon actually taste better. A recent study found that people find food tastier when they’ve paid a lot for it.
So make sure you savour every bite over brunch this weekend. It sure is costing you enough.
(H/t: Business Insider)
Also on HuffPost
