Pork belly futures a thing of the past

Monday, October 3, 2011

The mid-July notice from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange was simple and terse.
"Because of a prolonged lack of trading volume and after significant discussion with industry participants, CME will be delisting Frozen Pork Bellies Futures and Options effective Monday July 18, 2011."

According to Minyanville Media, which reports on commodity trading, pork belly trading, which celebrated its 50th birthday this year, was the most recognized and glamorous of the commodity trading contracts. Pork bellies, frozen in the winter when demand was low, were thawed in the summer to meet the high demand when bacon and tomato sandwiches were peaking. The seasonal demand produced a need to hedge against higher prices. A single contract consisted of 40,000 pounds of frozen trimmed bellies from which bacon was made.

Minyanville said trading in hog bellies declined for a number of reasons. The packing industry has switched to fixed price contracting. A few huge companies producing both pigs and bacon dominate. On top of that, demand is no longer seasonal, with hamburger chains adding bacon to make their sandwiches more palatable. BP