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We’ve seen some bottoming on a few item over the last two weeks. The current slaughter levels have finally caught up with curtailed demand.
Lent kicks off next Wednesday, 3/5, and will last until Friday, 4/17. Please be prepared for the increase in seafood consumption.
Most offerings are seeing tighter supply because of increased demand, smaller birds, and winter weather closing plants. Breasts of all sizes are seeing BIG increases in demand. Tenders demand has increased. Wings are readily available. Thigh meat demand is picking up. Whole birds stayed mostly balanced.
Ham Markets are down. Tariff discussion is causing uncertainty. Bellies and market climb has leveled out and we are seeing market correction. 72’s are climbing and 42’s has leveled off. Lean material is in demand. Loins are flat with modest buying interest. Butts are flat and are following seasonal market trends. Ribs are essentially flat.
We should see the trend of lower kills continue over the next few weeks as packers have scheduled maintenance at facilities. Live cattle continued to trade lower last week, but this week’s outlook is steady. We continue to see daily fluctuations on the cutout. This trend will continue over the next few weeks as we see some items bottom out and have short term clean up.
Shell egg markets are down this week and California eggs are down with no recent outbreaks to report. The Block & Barrel are down. Butter is down with plentiful cream in the market.
No major fluxes of supply right now. Yield is moving steady throughout the market. We are in peak production and volume is expected to begin to taper going forward. Quality remains excellent.
East – Green bell supplies are good, quality is good, demand is good, and the market is steady to slightly higher. Red and Yellow bell supplies tight, quality is good, demand strong and market steady.
West – moderate demand, market is steady. Quality is good.
Market is steady with good supplies and moderate demand. Quality is reported as fair to good.
Market is steady with good supplies and moderate demand. Quality is reported as good.
Market mostly steady with good supplies and demand. Quality is reported as good.
Market is steady on Cilantro and parsley with moderate to good demand. Quality reported as fair for cilantro and fair to good on the parsleys.
The market is a bit lower as warmer weather continues to help with yields. Quality is reported as good.
The market is steady, with good supplies expected into next week on Romaine. Hearts steady currently. Quality is reported as fair to good on both.
Supplies are good in the N West. Some shippers are pushing to end early which has reduced pricing. Demand remains steady. Quality is good, with good sizing. Prices are slightly lower in some areas.
Supplies are good and look to be so thru the season. Sizing is heavy to large with most growers being lighter on small sizes.
Quality is good. Markets are holding steady.
East – Zucchini supplies are plentiful, quality is excellent, demand good, market slightly higher. Yellow supplies good, with strong demand and the market is increasing.
West – Market is higher due to regional transition and increased demand. Yellow is limited in supplies.
Tomato – Roma, grape, and cherry markets remain stable with good availability and quality both east and west. Round availability remains stable, but expect slight price increases due to tariffs.
Expect harvest to begin to slow as growers work to prevent falling prices. However, demand is expected to flatten – so anticipate the market will overall be mostly steady going into the next week. Large fruit remains at a high premium and quality remains fair at best.
Supplies are still on the lighter side, but suppliers are keeping up with the demand.
Lemons – Supplies are in good supply on all sizes, quality is excellent, demand is fair to good, and the market is steady.
Oranges – Supplies are good, quality is excellent, demand is good, and the market is steady. Size structure is shifting heavier to larger sizes.
Limes – Production is new crop, majority of volume is in small sizes, and yielding good quality. Expect tighter supplies due to higher demand in March; that will not allow fruit to catch up and gain size. Market rising in addition to tariffs.
Good supplies and quality in the East and the West. Expected to remain steady for the next several weeks.
Supplies are tight, quality is fair to good, demand is strong, and the market is steady to slightly lower. 6/7s seem to be the shortest in supply. Expect supplies to remain tight through Easter.
Volume is lighter from all areas. Florida is down trending with weather on the way and so–so quality. Mexico is also down trending with independents finishing. Oxnard has rain on the way over the next week. Market is moving higher.
