MD_DA840 Cheese - Western U.S. Report 3 - Released on January 20, 2021 Copious amounts of milk are resulting in the production of plenty of cheese. Western cheesemakers are actively producing cheese, but an unsettled feeling persists within the market. This uncertainty has seemed to play out in some cash markets. The announcement of more government food box program purchases created an initial push upwards on cheese prices, but now, the momentum has seemed to wane. Forecasting market direction has been difficult and neither buyers, nor sellers, want to overextend themselves. Cheese inventories are abundant and able to meet most needs. However, industry contacts confirm that food service and institutional demand has remained weak. Retail demand, while better than last year, is not able to offset the reduction in cheese sales into other channels. Until sit-down dining returns, contacts expect the cheese market may be challenging. WESTERN WHOLESALE PRICE ADJUSTMENTS In the West, wholesale prices are up $.0100 for process, and up $.1325 for cheddar block, cuts and Monterey Jack. Swiss cut wholesale prices are unchanged from the previous week. WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES: DELIVERED DOLLARS PER POUND(MIXED LOTS (1000-5000 POUNDS)) Cheddar 10 pound Cuts 2.2400-2.4400 Cheddar 40 pound Block 1.9925-2.4825 Monterey Jack 10 pounds 2.2275-2.5025 Process American 5 pound Loaf 1.7075-1.9625 Swiss 6-9 pound Cuts 3.6800-4.1100 Information for the period January 18 - 22, 2021, issued weekly Secondary Sourced Information: CME CLOSE In CME Group trading Wednesday, barrels closed at $1.4400, compared to the weekly average price of $1.6060 from last week. Blocks closed at $1.7300, compared to the weekly average price of $1.9120 from last week. EXPORT ASSISTANCE This week, a cooperative export assistance program accepted requests for export assistance on contracts to sell 608,476 pounds (276 metric tons) of cheese. So far this year, the program has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 1.471 million pounds of American-type cheeses in export markets. When combined with butter, cream cheese and whole milk powder, the program has assisted members with sales of 84.3 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Published by: Dairy Market News - Madison, WI MIKE BANDLI, (608)422-8592 Email: mike.bandli@usda.gov Additional Dairy Market News Information: Dairy Market News (DMN) by Phone: (608)422-8602 DMN Website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy DMN MARS (My Market News): https://mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov
Cheese - West