Bacon prices to rise as Chinese hog our rashers

THE cost of bacon is set to rise in Britain because of increasing demand for the product in China, industry experts warn.

They are predicting a spike of up to 38 per cent in the wholesale price of smoked bacon.

Pig farming in China has been severely hit by flooding, so the country has stepped up imports from the UK and other nations.

At the same time, the recent fall in the value of the pound means British bacon is cheaper for the Chinese to buy.

The net effect is that wholesale prices of British bacon have surged in recent weeks and at least some of this is likely to be passed on to customers in the high street.

The warning comes from Beacon Foods, which supplies about 2,000 restaurants, cafes, hotels and leisure businesses.

In the first six months of 2016 exports of British pork were up 40,000 tonnes on the same period last year. And over half of EU pork exports have gone to China, a 60 per cent increase on the same period last year .

Emma Warrington, food buyer at Beacon, said: ‘The combination of such huge demand for British pork from China and the devaluing of sterling following Brexit…means we might be paying a higher price for a bacon sandwich for the foreseeable future.’