MD_DA840                                                         
DA                                                               
MD DA840 Cheese - West                                           

MADISON, WI.  April 20, 2016 (REPORT 16)                         

WEST CHEESE                                                      

Western cheese production remains active with plenty of milk for processing. Although 
export opportunities are somewhat limited and imports are ahead of last year's volumes, 
domestic retail and food service demand remain relatively strong. A few industry contacts 
suggest manufacturers have been able to moderate or even clear some of their cheese 
inventory recently. Some second tier companies have sought out cheese to rebuild their 
stocks a little. End users say there is still no problem getting cheese from cheese 
makers, but some manufacturers' inventories are a little lighter. The recent interest 
from end users may have helped temporarily ease some of the inventory pressures. The DMN 
National Retail Report-Dairy for the week of April 15-21 shows the U.S. weighted average 
advertised retail price for an 8 ounce pack of natural shredded cheese is $2.50, up $.23 
from last week, and up $.20 from a year ago. Packs average $2.57 in the Southwest and 
$2.71 in the Northwest. For 8 ounce blocks, the U.S. price is $2.33, down $.09 from last 
week, but up $.11 from a year ago. Blocks average $2.40 in the Southwest and $3.00 in the 
Northwest this week. In the West, wholesale prices are down $.0125 for process, and down 
$.0100 for cheddar block, cuts, and Monterey Jack. Swiss cut wholesale prices are 
unchanged this week. This week, a cooperative export assistance program accepted requests 
for 668,001 pounds (303 metric tons) of cheese. So far this year, the program has 
assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 14.643 million pounds of cheese 
in export markets. In CME Group trading Wednesday, barrels closed at $1.4500, up $.0225 
from a week ago and blocks closed at $1.4400, up $.0125. 


WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES:  DELIVERED, DOLLARS PER POUND          
(1000 - 5000 POUNDS MIXED LOTS)                                  
                                                                 
Process 5# Loaf                              : 1.5300-1.7875     
Cheddar 40# Block                            : 1.5325-1.9775     
Cheddar 10# Cuts                             : 1.7125-1.9325     
Monterey Jack 10#                            : 1.7225-1.8825     
Grade A Swiss Cuts 6 - 9#                    : 2.5525-2.9825     


       2016 U.S. Cheese Imports (USDA-FAS)
                 2016 Imports      % Change From      % of
                 (Million Lb.)       1 Year Ago       Yearly Quota

March Quota            20.9          + 15.6           7.0

TOTAL, JAN - MAR
    High Tier           10.9          + 32.7           ...
    Quota               59.3          + 35.8          19.8


1530CT Mike.Bandli@ams.usda.gov 608.557.7010
USDA/AMS/Dairy Market News, Madison, Wisconsin 
Dairy Market News website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy
Dairy Market News database portal: http://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/da-home