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As we continue to encounter record temperatures across most of the cattle regions in the USA, look for USDA Grade and carcass weights to slip lower in months ahead.
The snow crab season has unofficially ended for the snow crab harvest in Canada. There is growing pressure for the prices to continue increasing moving forward.
Breast market is well supplied with the markets mostly even. Tenders continue to hold and are still in short supply. Whole birds are mostly even. Jumbo and medium wings are up while small are even with ample supply. Dark meat is steady on solid demand.
Butts declined this week. The rib complex is still holding relatively flat but could see some upward movement on fresh ribs. Loins had slight gains held up by retail demand. Bellies saw gains with Prop 12 build up as expected but remain deflationary year-over-year due to large cold storage supplies. Hams & trimmings saw gains this week.
The tone is one of weakness and pressure on packers to find balance between demand and weekly harvest numbers. Ribs and tenders are under pressure as demand slows into the late summer months. Strips continue to surprise, more on the CAB vs Choice, limited supply continue to be the key here. End cuts, chucks and rounds, are beginning to weaken as well, as more boxes become available.
Shell Egg markets are steady as the market prices remain firm; California only saw a slight drop. Cheese and butter markets are turning bullish largely driven by European markets. Cream and Culture pricing are slightly increasing in July.
Soybean oil futures shot higher but ended the week almost unchanged; pricing is still very high. It is likely to move higher with USDA reporting soybean oil stocks lower than forecast. Good news is US got some needed rains. Canola has moved higher as they are experiencing drought. Europe also experiencing drought.
Scallop fishing season has yielded variable results regarding the sizes of raw materials. Smaller sizes are tighter in supply than larger sizes. Great Lake fish availability is spotty due to warmer weather driving fish deeper. Strong inventory in US warehouses have been softening the market on multiple frozen items.
Supply improved this week as did fill rates, unfortunately this is not expected to hold. Jumbo and Extra large will continue to be limited. Market will be active.
Market is on a slow decline with adequate supplies to meet the current demand. Supplies are lighter and higher demand could get pressure pricing.
Market steady at the elevated levels as supplies continue to be tight with diminished yields due to quality issues and insect pressure at the field level.
Market coming off on both red and green cabbage as supplies begin to improve.
Market coming off from previous week as supplies begin to improve on lighter demand.
Market remains firm as supplies are expected to be on the lighter side for a few weeks on both Cilantro and Parsley.
Heirlooms, medley and Campari tomatoes in various regions are in a very low production cycle and demand exceeds supplies.
Supplies on lettuce have improved and the market is reacting down. Romaine market is fairly steady to down slightly.
The New Mexico market remains steady, and the California market came off a touch this week. Overall quality is very good from both growing areas.
Green bell both supply and quality are good with the market steady and more peppers coming on late next week. Red and Yellow pepper very short in particular yellow out on the west coast.
Markets remain steady after last week’s short pack schedule. Product was tight to start the week but will improve towards the end of the week on smaller sizes. Much needed heat is in the forecast this week to help the plant growth on the new 2023/2024 crop for next season.
East – Zucchini and yellow squash supplies steady; quality is good and market on both colors could fall a little towards the weekend, due to increased production. West showing good supplies, market trend is lower. Yellow quality is marginal, demand is good for all varieties.
Overall market availability is stable both east and west on all varieties, but quality varies greatly among shippers. Round Availability and quality should improve as TN, VA, & NC harvest increases. Markets should remain steady through next week.
Granny Smith, Fujis, Red & Golden Delicious remain tight and that market remains very active.
Transition to new crop is not going smoothly. It’s now obvious that there is not enough 48’s and larger to supply all customers, demand exceeds supplies.
Lemons – Central Coast region is the main growing region this summer domestically. Market is firming up and going up especially on fancy fruit.
Expect lemon prices go up each week until more imports arrive. 165 ct and smaller are in a demand exceeds supplies.
Oranges – Valencia’s are still lighter volume and heavy to Choice grade, peaking on 88/113s. Imports have hit the East Coast with limited availability.
Limes – Lime market has eased some this week on softer demand post–holiday. Mexico continues to only get spotty rain, and nowhere near what is needed to pull them out of the drought.
Good supplies on all grapes, and the market remains steady. Overall quality is very good.
Melons – Cantaloupe supplies are better than in previous weeks, but size profile is mostly Jumbo size, so smaller sizes, 12 and 15’s, are limited. Honeydew supplies are increasing as well, and sizes are also larger, with limited 6 and 8 count.
Production volume is down industry–wide for the next several weeks. There is a size shift also towards smaller fruit now. We are seeing more size 8s & 7s and less 5s and 6s. This should persist for a couple more weeks. The market will be extremely tight, and market is active.
