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Cattle of Feed report on Aug 1, 2024, cattle were equal to last year. Placements were up 6% and marketings were up 8%. If you compare daily marketings versus monthly marketings, the numbers reflect a 1.64% decline.
The prices of imported, farm–raised, white, and black tiger shrimp are gaining strength and firming depending upon sizes due to rising shipping costs, delays in shipment arrivals, and shortages of shipping containers.
Wings demand has begun to pick up as we near football season. Tenders continue to be mostly steady. Jumbo and medium breasts are seeing increased demand as further processors continue to pull heavy. Small breasts continue to stay steady. Dark meat demand remains very good. Whole birds are mostly balanced.
Butts are steady with moderate pulled pork demand. Bone-in and boneless materials have seen a bit of support for Labor Day. Loins are steady–domestic buying has slowed, however export channels are strong. Ribs are mostly steady. A softer tone was present in bellies this week as supply is up and bacon processing has slowed down. Trim markets have softened, supply is more steady.
Heading into a holiday, supply levels are ample. Ribs and tenders are attracting interest, leading to packers raising or holding price offerings. Loin and top sirloin, pricing continues to be softer. The chuck and round complexes continue to perform well. Grinds continue limited and packers have moved pricing slightly higher.
Shell egg markets are up this week. California and Northwest markets are down except for Medium which is up. The strong demand from both retail and foodservice outlets emphasizes the widespread need for eggs across the market. The Block & Barrel are increasing. EU cheese/ whey looks undervalued relative to butter/SMP.
Transitions in Mexico are causing supply issues on early finish and quality issues from weather have supplies are lighter. Peru is stable. Expect demand exceed especially on larger sizes on the west coast.
East – Green pepper volume is lighter, and the market is increasing. Red and Yellow bell peppers supplies remain limited.
West – No expected changes to supply. Green are light but steady, red and yellow peppers are showing decent supply. Market remains elevated.
Market active, with supplies tighter on crowns and short trim, most suppliers are keeping up to current demand.
The market continues to remain elevated but is slowly declining. Yields have started to improve as quality issues diminish.
Market getting stronger as supplies are tight with fields behind schedule, heads not sizing up and quality issues. Demand is exceeding supplies and subbing to alternate sizes may be necessary.
Market a bit stronger with a few growers fighting quality issues impacting yields, but supplies are generally meeting demand.
Good supplies next week for Cilantro. The market decreased on moderate demand. Good quality and improving. Parsley supplies and demand are moderate keeping the market mostly steady.
Market is active as lower yields due to prolonged high heat are affecting product yields. Suppliers are struggling to meet demand, expect to see an active market for the next 3 – 4 weeks.
LE Cucumber have started their transition to winter plantings and demand exceeds supplies. In addition, Peppers, TOV, and Beefsteak tomatoes demand exceeds supplies.
Market steady but a few growers are dealing with sizing issues with some lots slowing up the harvest. Overall quality is good, and supplies are meeting the demand.
Market is increasing as several growers are into limited supplies on romaine and hearts this week and next. Quality is good.
Supplies are steady on yellows and reds from Washington and Idaho, market is lower. California will finish in 2 weeks. Demand is good. Quality has been good.
The Northwest is transitioning from old to new crops. Supplies remain lighter on 40–50 ct from some suppliers. Other sizes are plentiful. Demand has been fair. The quality has been good on new crop Norkotah’s, but we are seeing some issues in the old crop Burbank’s. Markets are mixed between old and new crop.
West – Market is higher, supply is moderate, quality is only fair.
East – Zucchini supplies good, demand good and market steady. Yellow squash supplies lighter, quality is good, demand is very good and the market on yellow squash is strong.
Round markets continue to rebound due to additional supply both east and west. Roma, grape & cherry markets remain stable with normal volume both east and west.
Mexico Prices steady on large fruit 60 ct and smaller is lower. Volume from all regions is similar to last week. Larger fruit and #2s will be in very tight supply for 4–6 weeks, expect those markets to be more active.
Lemons – Market is steady on 115 ct and smaller, 75 and 95 ct are up slightly. Decent volume from California and the additional fruit coming in from Chile.
Oranges – Market is very active and climbing higher. Growers are losing more in the field and during packing due to overall quality, the season will end sooner than anticipated. Chilean navels are coming in with good volume and better quality.
Limes – Market remains elevated from Mexico as yields decline on marketable fruit.
Lime – Quality and shelf life have been adversely impacted due to extreme weather conditions in Mexico. Although all product is being repacked prior to shipping, quality is deteriorating while in transit.
Supplies continue to be mostly good. Quality remains great on greens and good on reds. From past extreme heat, quality issues and supplies issues are expected in late September, early October.
Supplies are very limited from all suppliers due to weather–related quality issues bringing the Pacific Northwest region to an abrupt end. Peru has started with much lighter volume than normal due to past weather and crop issues.
