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Midwest Cheese Market
MD_DA830
DA
MD DA830 Cheese - Midwest
MADISON, WI. February 22, 2012 (REPORT 8)
MIDWEST CHEESE:
Some manufacturers and brokers report having been waiting for an uptick in
retail advertising with more price focus, to help move sales. That may now
be in the works, as this week has yielded a noticeable increase in retailers
negotiating orders for cheese to stock retail advertising and promotions now
planned for mid-March and the end of March. This anticipated increase in
advertising and promotions has been attributed to more frequent expression
of confidence by retail buyers that there will not be significant upward
cheese price "surprises" in the coming weeks before ads can run. This
feeling of relative price constancy extends more widely throughout the
cheese industry, with cheese storage facilities reporting little activity
toward "stocking up" on inventory in anticipation of near term price
increases. A feeling expressed in some quarters is that the horizon for
cheese price increases out of the current trading range is "a little ways
down the road". Nevertheless, some cheese manufacturing and aging programs
are still underway, where price is not the controlling factor. Hard Italian
varieties, which sell well in the last months of each year and which
typically require about 9 months of aging, are being manufactured and stored
regionally to be ready for seasonal sales in October through December.
There is also some addition of Cheddar to aging programs, attributed to
replenishing inventories which were sold last year when cheese prices rose
above $2.10 or so. Regional milk supplies remain heavy and some surplus
milk sales below class continue to be reported. With the capacity of some
cheese manufacturers in the Midwest already nearing limits, some Midwest
milk has also been shipped to the Southeast for use in cheese plants
operated only part of each year to accommodate heavy milk supplies. CME
activity last week into mid this week has generated heavy sales of blocks.
Last week and through this Wednesday, 26 loads of blocks sold on CME
trading. By mid this week, both blocks and barrels had closed slightly
below where they closed last week, with blocks at $1.4800 on Wednesday and
barrels $1.4750. Cheese exporters report steady levels of recent inquiries
about U. S. manufactured cheese available for export. Cooperatives Working
Together (CWT) this Tuesday announced accepting requests for export
assistance to sell a total of 1.281 million pounds (581 metric tons) of
Cheddar, Gouda and Monterey Jack cheese. The product will be delivered
February through June 2012. In 2012, CWT has assisted member cooperatives
in making export sales of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Gouda cheese totaling
24.5 million pounds.
WISCONSIN WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES: DELIVERED,
DOLLARS PER POUND (1000 - 5000 POUNDS MIXED LOTS)
Process American 5# Loaf : 1.8375-2.3600
Brick And/Or Muenster 5# : 1.9875-2.4400
Cheddar 40# Block : 1.9875-2.8650
Monterey Jack 10# : 1.9575-2.8650
Blue 5# : 2.2525-3.1300
Mozzarella 5 - 6# (Low Moisture, Part Skim): 1.8325-2.9650
Grade A Swiss Cuts 6 - 9# : 3.0125-3.3300
1:00 eric.graf@usda.gov
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