U.S. pork belly reserves hit 50-year low

In December 2016, frozen pork supplies were down 8 percent from the previous month and down 13 percent from last year.

Pork belly inventories were at 17.8 million pounds, down 4 percent from last month and down 67 percent from last year, according to USDA. It’s the lowest level since 1957.

Pork belly prices, meanwhile, were up 23.8 percent from the year before, according to the USDA. And prices rose another 20 percent in just the first three weeks of January, said the nonprofit Ohio Pork Council.