Wholesale pork belly prices are currently trading at 270.89 cents per pound. And consumers are about to see even higher prices of bacon, which is primarily cut from pork bellies. Analysts who spoke to CNBC attributed the surge in pork prices partly to a recently imposed animal welfare regulation in California, which came into effect July 1. Proposition 12 played a "major role" in the surge in prices, said Urner Barry pork market analyst, Ryan Hojnowski. Consequently, sellers of bacon will want to keep their profit margins up — thus, the spike in pork belly wholesale prices is going to translate to higher retail and food services prices, he said.

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Persons: Bacon, Zachary Zirlin, —, That's, Brian Earnest, Cobank's Earnest, Earnest, Barry, Ryan Hojnowski, Hojnowski, Urner Barry, Glenn Asakawa Organizations: Eyeem, Getty, CNBC, National Pork Producers Council, Medianews, Denver Locations: California, FactSet, Colorado