Cheese - West
MD_DA840

     Cheese - Western U.S.

     Report 9 - Released on March 03, 2021

     With abundant milk, western cheesemakers say there is plenty of spot milk to buy if needed.
     Cheese production is active. Industry contacts suggest inventories are building, but much of
     the cheese is already sold. Congestion at the ports has delayed some shipments, causing
     product to back up into manufacturers� warehouses. Contacts report international buyer
     interest is present due to the favorable U.S. cash market cheese prices compared to prices
     overseas. International buyers often want to forward buy several months out. However, the
     gap between cash prices and futures prices makes manufacturers hesitant to do this. Cheese
     processors say forecasting has become more difficult over the last year. While cheese is
     moving well through contracts, domestic buyers are reticent. Retail sales are still ahead of
     last year, and although cheese sellers have seen a small uptick in food service interest,
     overall demand is shaky.


     WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES: DELIVERED
     DOLLARS PER POUND(MIXED LOTS (1000-5000 POUNDS))

     Cheddar 10 pound Cuts               1.9300-2.1300
     Cheddar 40 pound Block              1.6825-2.1725
     Monterey Jack 10 pounds             1.9175-2.1925
     Process American 5 pound Loaf       1.5125-1.7675
     Swiss 6-9 pound Cuts                3.8725-4.3025


     Information for the period March 1 - 5, 2021, issued weekly

     Secondary Sourced Information:

     WESTERN WHOLESALE PRICE ADJUSTMENTS
     In the West, wholesale prices are down $.0325 for process, but up $.0675 for cheddar block,
     cuts and Monterey Jack. Swiss cut wholesale prices are unchanged from the previous week.


     CME GROUP MONTHLY AVERAGES
     The CME Group February 2021 monthly average price for barrels, $1.4442, is down from the
     January 2021 monthly average price of $1.5141, and down from the monthly average of a year
     ago, $1.5470. The February average price for blocks, $1.5821, is down from the January 2021
      monthly average of $1.7470, and down from the monthly average of a year ago, $1.8343.


     CME CLOSE
     In CME Group trading Wednesday, barrels closed at $1.4200, compared to the weekly average
     price of $1.4090 from last week. Blocks closed at $1.6500, compared to the weekly average
     price of $1.6015 from last week.

     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