Beef
The Beef industry has a lack of select and no roll product which has narrowed price spreads between all grades. End cuts and grinds continue to “drive” items for retail and foodservice settles in for Valentine’s Day and Super Bowl.
February 2, 2024
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Market Headlines
Poultry
The market for chicken continues to push upward. Breasts availability has improved on all sizes. Tenders are becoming less available. Wings of all sizes have increases in demand as we are in wing season. Dark meat demand remains very good. Whole birds are mostly balanced.
Pork
Butts continue to decline as expected, this trend should continue for a couple more weeks. Rib are holding steady and are expected to trade sideways for the near future. Loins are following the same trend as butts right now. Bellies are still moving up as demand is strong and following the typical trends for this time of the year.
Beef
Butts continue to decline as expected, this trend should continue for a couple more weeks. Rib are holding steady and are expected to trade sideways for the near future. Loins are following the same trend as butts right now. Bellies are still moving up as demand is strong and following the typical trends for this time of the year.
Dairy
Shell egg markets are all up this week. Block is increasing & Barrel market are decreasing. Butter is up. January Cream and Culture pricing will reflect price decreases due to those market adjustments.
Grains / Oil
Soybean oil futures started last week on a high note but moved back down toward week’s end. The higher move was due to higher energy markets, but the fundamental good supply of beans, etc. helped keep the soybean futures in check. Palm moved higher with production issues and Chinese demand, while Canola is flat.
Seafood
Imported Shrimp market is slowly firming up and expecting to see pricing creep up going into Lent. Dungeness crab season opened last week in California and suppliers will start seeing new inventory from new season. Expect some discounts on last season product. Dry weather this summer has destroyed the stock of domestic Crawfish.
To learn more contact your local Sales Consultant. Market Corner Produce information reflects both U.S. and Canadian markets. All other commodity information is based on U.S. market data only.
Produce Market Updates
Vegetables
Asparagus – Alert
Production is finally picking up in Mexico. Jumbo is still extremely limited but as more product comes in, pricing will continue to settle.
Arugala
Supplies are very tight due to yellowing and causing lower yields. Expect supplies to be short another week or so.
Broccoli
Slightly improved supply in the short term, still tight through next week, but markets are slightly lower though as we get into better weather and lower demand.
Cabbage – Green & Red
Supplies and quality good on both red and green. Market lower on green and steady on red.
Cauliflower
Markets have come off a bit as volume improves. Quality is good out of Mexico and Yuma with good availability on all pack sizes.
Celery
Market mainly steady, however with rain in the forecast expecting harvest delays in the desert and Oxnard. May see pricing pop up but not expected to hold too long.
Cilantro/Parsley
Cilantro and Parsley supplies and overall quality look good. Market mainly steady for both
Corn – Alert
East – Supplies are extremely limited, quality is fair, and market very high.
West – Some harvest of white corn this week but with expected rain this weekend that should curtail. Demand exceeds.
Cucumber
East – Supplies are limited from importers, quality good, and market very high.
West – While supplies are limited overall there have been spots of better harvest which has adjusted the market slightly. This is not expected to trend as rain and cold will further hamper production.
Green Beans
East – Supplies are extremely limited and the market extremely high.
West – Continued limited supplies out of Mexico, demand is moderate and high pricing is holding for available product.
Lettuce & Romaine
Market mostly steady. Good volume available with good quality. Romaine market holding steady, and the heart market is a little softer on better supplies.
Onions – White – Alert
Domestically there are no quality white onion inventory available from Idaho and Washington white onion supplies are reducing rapidly. Suppliers expect to see a few onion crossings in from Mexico but that is still a couple of weeks out.
Bell Peppers – Alert
East – Green bell supplies limited, quality is good, demand stronger and market higher. Red and Yellow bells remain in short supply.
West – Green availability has declined, and market is expected to increase. Red market supply is better, and market has adjusted down.
Potatoes – Russets
Supplies are good for all sizes. Demand has slowed. The market remains steady. Quality is good.
Squash – Alert
West – Demand has slowed, but market remains high as volume has declined due to weather impacts. No relief expected for two weeks.
East – Supplies of all squash are very limited. Another cold front will continue to affect supply.
Tomatoes – Alert
Roma market continues to improve due to increased availability out of Mexico, however Roma supply out of Florida remains low. Round, grape, & cherry availability remains on alert status due to lack of availability out of Mexico and Florida.
Fruit
Avocado
Heavy demand for Super Bowl has started and expect to see market pricing to increase across all sizes.
Citrus – Alert
Lemons – Alert Central California will be impacted by this week’s rain. Shortages and gaps in sizes will most likely come next week. Packinghouses are preparing for the stalled harvest.
Oranges – Alert Limited supplies of 88s, 113s and 138s in both grades. Shortages and substitutions will become the norm as we depend on the pack out each day.
Limes – Some relief in some prices, with lower demand overall, supply continues to be heavy in large sizes (110/150’s) with lower utilization.
Grapes – Alert
Red grapes continue in demand exceeds. Peru is winding down faster than anticipated and Chile is late. Volume is not expected to improve until mid–February. Quality has been good. Market is expected to hold.
