MD_DA840 Cheese - Western U.S. Report 19 - Released on May 12, 2021 In the West, this week, demand for cheese for retail has held steady. Contacts report mixed food service demand. While some purchasers are purchasing more to fill storage capacity, others are buying less as they have met their capacities. There is steady demand for cheese for export to Mexico and Asia. Amidst the current driver/truck shortage, increasing freight costs are a concern for cheese buyers. Some have begun to look for other avenues of transportation to fulfill orders. Mixed cheese inventories continue to be reported; blocks are available for spot purchase. Spot purchasers are having a better time obtaining barrels than in previous weeks, though inventories continue to be limited. With the high availability of milk in the region cheese production plants are running full schedules. Market tones are firm. Late last week, cheese barrel prices fell below blocks on the CME, where they have remained into this week. WESTERN WHOLESALE PRICE ADJUSTMENTS In the West, wholesale prices are down $.0150 for process, and down $.0200 for cheddar block, cuts and Monterey Jack. Swiss cut wholesale prices are down $0.0325 from the previous week. WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES: DELIVERED DOLLARS PER POUND(MIXED LOTS (1000-5000 POUNDS)) Cheddar 10 pound Cuts 2.1100-2.3100 Cheddar 40 pound Block 1.8625-2.3525 Monterey Jack 10 pounds 2.0975-2.3725 Process American 5 pound Loaf 1.8975-2.1525 Swiss 6-9 pound Cuts 3.0275-3.4575 Information for the period May 10 - 14, 2021, issued weekly Secondary Sourced Information: CME CLOSE In CME Group trading Wednesday, barrels closed at $1.7550, compared to the weekly average price of $1.7960 from last week. Blocks closed at $1.8125, compared to the weekly average price of $1.7820 from last week. EXPORT ASSISTANCE This week, a cooperative export assistance program accepted requests for export assistance on contracts to sell 403,446 pounds (183 metric tons) of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. So far this year, the program has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 14.9 million pounds of American-type cheeses and 5.5 million pounds of cream cheese in export markets. When combined with butter, AMF, cream cheese and whole milk powder, the program has assisted members with sales of 722.3 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Published by: Dairy Market News - Madison, WI ROMAN CARAMAN, (608) 422-8593 Email: roman.caraman@usda.gov Additional Dairy Market News Information: Dairy Market News (DMN) by Phone: (608)422-8602 DMN Website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy DMN MARS (My Market News): https://mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov
Cheese - West