Download Our PDF for this report
The Cattle on Feed report came out on Friday and showed more cattle in feedlots than expected. Placements came in at 99% of last year. Key factors are poor pasture conditions, increased cost of feed and fuel.
Domestic white shrimp season just kicked of in Louisiana with great catches. Mid-to-smaller sizes wild-caught domestic shrimp can offer a good value now and are ideal for grilling for seasonal business.
Starting to see additional product availability as bird weights have improved and demand has softened. Wings mostly steady on jumbo, lower on medium and small, while still being the best value in the complex. Tenders availability is very tight with higher prices. The random breast market is historically high, but flattening out.
Butts continue on their upward trend for next week, and should level off after the Memorial Day holiday. Loins are following the same trends as butts. Ribs remained pretty steady as demand is stable and supplies have kept up with demand. Bellies are moving up as well and seeing increased demand.
With the holiday weekend ahead, industry is trying to button up needs for the weekend and ship a little earlier, filling last minute needs. Ribs and strips are trading steady, and supplies are steady. Tenders continues to soften with lack of demand. Chucks and rounds have stabilized, as price points continue to attract grinders.
The cheese markets are higher for the week due to increased exports. Tighter cream supplies have helped push butter markets higher. Sluggish demand has caused egg markets to move lower.
The soybean oil market had a nice break this past week. The market sold off high positions and traders took some profits. Palm oil markets moved lower with supply improvement. Canola supply is still constrained with the Red River cresting and too much rain in the area.
Market indexes for groundfish trending higher with active demand from both retail and foodservice. Record low harvest for Gulf Oysters due to mortality rate and several fishing areas being shut down. All Texas public fishing areas are closed. Oyster companies are scrambling to get raw materials to freeze for the half-shell market.
Market is adjusting as Peruvian product continues to arrive regularly and in good condition. Central MX is packing in a limited way and will ramp up in coming weeks. Domestic product is in full swing in Michigan and Washington.
Markets are mostly steady for this week, with good supplies available.
Active markets on both commodity and value-added Brussels sprouts remain as supply out of Mexico remains low and full production on the Central Coast of CA is not in full production. Jumbo sprouts are very limited or not available for most suppliers this week.
No change from the previous weeks. Shredded carrots, rainbow shredded carrots and 2 in peeled carrots are now short in supply in addition to shortages on snack pack and jumbo carrots out of California. Carrot sticks for some also remain a challenge with the main carrot processor only packing a 2-inch stick, instead of a 4-inch stick.
Napa and Bok Choy – Markets continues to be active with less overall supplies available. For both green and red cabbage, there is very limited supplies on the west coast with active markets.
Market is slowly seeing better signs of supply as some light production has started out of the Salinas Valley. Markets look to stabilize over the next 2 weeks.
Georgia is in full bean production, supply is strong, quality is good, and demand is fair. Mexico is done. California green beans are limited and supply is very short this week. Fresno, Ca will start up production in June.
Mostly steady markets being seen this week with good demand on all leaf lettuces, romaine, romaine hearts, and iceberg lettuce. Stronger markets on butter lettuces.
The market on CA onions is steady with good demand. Quality is good. The Imperial Valley will finish up over the next two weeks and will transition Central California. Texas has good demand with the market being steady, and some shippers finishing up. New Mexico will start the next couple of weeks.
Italian parsley is being challenged with quality issues causing lighter supplies and stronger markets. Heavy seeder is being seen for some suppliers.
On the east coast, and west coast, pepper markets on all colors remain active and unsettled as new growing regions are ending and looking to start up.
Markets continue to strengthen due to a lack of availability both east and west on all varieties. Out east, Ruskin/ Palmetto is finished for the season and the transition to Quincy FL is still two weeks out. Out west, the transition to Baja is still a couple of weeks out, and California is very limited with availability out of Indio. Supply will continue to be limited until transitions in the east and west are completed in the coming weeks.
Mexico- Harvest was reduced for this week. The size curve is yielding a little larger fruit where demand is the weakest. With the light harvest volume #2’s will be in tight supply. CA- Harvest has already moved past the peak volume. Peru- is showing up in coolers, there is no demand outside of retail programs.
Lemons: Market is steady. The crop is heavy to mostly large fancy grade. Small choice is lighter in supply.
The market is stronger on all sizes and grades. Volume is peaking on large fancy grade. Small choice grade 113-138 counts are very short in supply.
Valencia’s are being used to fill in on small sizes. The full transition will take place over the next week.
Lime: Supply on 110’s/150’s still very limited. Majority of volume is in 175’s, 200’s, 230’s. Seeing less volume on 250’s because crop is gaining size. Minimal issues with quality. Flexibility may be needed on sizing as suppliers will have to sub sizes due to the larger sizes still being limited in supplies.
