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The CDC said on Monday bird flu risk to the public remains low. It does continue to be aware and ask the state public health officials to be alert and prepared to quickly test and provide treatment.
A farm in Michigan was identified as HPAI positive with an expected loss of approximately 2M egg laying birds combined between conventional and cage free housing.
Breasts demand has started to slow and extra supply is becoming available. Wings are in balance in the market. Tenders demand is strong and tenders remain the hardest offering to find. Dark meat demand remains very good. Whole birds are mostly balanced.
Both B/I and boneless butts are moving up next week as demand has increased. Ribs are also in high demand driving the market up. Loins are seeing more action from retail ad’s which will result in a strong market. Bellies are also trending up as demand for fresh bellies increases each week. Trimmings are up as well following suit with the overall pork outlook.
The market continues to be flat. Ribs and tenders continue to show discounting. Strips and top butts are hanging in there. End cuts, insides and chucks, appear easy to find and packers are motivated sellers. The smaller harvest have lent support thin meats; grinds continue to pop up and are reflecting some strain on the market.
Shell egg markets are all flat and demand has softened. California and Northwest markets are down. Avian influenza has shown up in U.S. dairy herds, but it isn’t widespread enough to reduce production. Contracted cheese demand is steady and spot demand is steady to stronger. Butter is up with domestic demand mixed.
Higher energy, higher competing vegetable oil varieties, and higher equities all supported higher prices for soybean oil last week. Palm was higher with continued production issues. Canola moved higher with reduced farmer seed selling.
Pacific Halibut season is underway and initial prices on whole fish are higher, but expected it to soften in the coming weeks. North Atlantic lobster inventory continues to tighten and price is firming. Warm water lobster prices are steady and have not taken the expected increases due to increased availability.
Market is slightly down. Peru is opening new fields daily and domestic is starting in California, Idaho, and the Pacific Northwest. Quality of domestic is very good to excellent.
West – Market has eased as supplies have increased. Field reds in good supply with no shortages expected.
East – Green bell supply steady, quality good and moving well at current market. Red bell supplies have improved, quality good, demand good and market lower. Yellow bells are still very limited in the east.
Market is softer but still firm, as supplies are still tight. Expect supplies to improve in the coming weeks.
Supplies and quality good on both red and green. Market mostly softer on both.
Market softer as volume improves and seeing lighter demand.
Market mainly steady with good supplies and moderate demand.
Cilantro market steady on decent supplies, volume expected to improve in the coming weeks. Parsley supplies and overall quality look good. Market mostly steady for both curly and Italian.
West – Market is lower with light demand, but this is not expected to hold as supplies are set to diminish as regional shift begins.
East – Supplies good, quality good.
Market is softer as Salinas starts to ramp up, and the desert winds down. Quality is fair to good, however Value Added suppliers are seeing less heart material still.
The Idaho region is done. PNW will go to the end of April. Quality is fair at best.
Inventory loading in Texas is barely filling the void from Idaho. Red is still very limited, keeping this market active.
Limited harvesting crews continues to be a struggle and has this market remaining firm. Harvesting should get back to normal and expect this market will start to come off next week.
Supplies are very light on 40–50 ct from most suppliers. 90–120 ct are plentiful. This now looks to be the case through the summer months. Demand is following supply accordingly. Prices are steady for now. Quality is good.
West – Good supplies, light demand, desert production has started in a small way.
East – Zucchini supplies good, quality good and demand good. Market steady. Yellow squash supplies good, quality fair to good, market stronger.
Rounds remain on alert status both east and west due to lack of availability. Grape, cherry, and roma varieties continue to improve with increased supply on normal demand.
Volume out of Mexico remains strong. Market is active as Cinco De Mayo pull is still a week away. The market is currently soft on larger sizes. Next week demand is expected to increase and likely push market up.
Lemons –Alert– Crop peaking on 115’s and larger, with 140’s and smaller becoming a challenge to fill orders. 140s, 165s, 200s and 235s very tight supplies. Flexibility on size needed.
Oranges –Alert– Fruit is peaking on 40/36/56ct size Navels. Tight supplies and higher prices, especially for smaller size navels oranges. For most suppliers California Valencia oranges are anticipated to start earlier this season by mid–late–April.
Limes – Crop conditions remain steady. New crop approximately 50–60% of volume is in small sizes 250s/230s. Quality and utilization has improved in response to new crop in small sizes. Supplies tight on 110s/150s.
Volumes continue to be lighter than normal as import supplies are being strategically aligned to meet supplies. Mexico is slated to bring much needed relief for this category by mid–May.
Pineapple volume remains tight. Next week expected to be tight as well with improved volumes ramping up week 16. Volumes are anticipated to continue to increase week over week after Week 16, returning to normal volumes.
Supplies are slowly improving but growers are still scrambling to catch up as warmer weather brings demand up. Market remains firm but trending lower.
