MD_DA840                                                         
DA                                                               
MD DA840 Cheese - West                                           

MADISON, WI.  August 30, 2017 (REPORT 35)                        

WEST CHEESE                                                      

Western cheese producers are not having any trouble finding the milk needed to meet their 
processing needs. Cheese production is robust. Cheese demand is mixed and inventories are 
building slightly. With school startups and the unofficial end of summer at hand, 
consumer grilling demand is slowing, but cut and wrap demand is solid. Industry contacts 
suggest some requests for mozzarella and other pizza cheeses have yet to develop, leading 
a few contacts to speculate that end users bought supplies earlier in the summer and 
placed those stocks into storage. Cheese inventories are long, especially for other 
natural cheese types, including mozzarella. A few manufacturers say buyers seems to be 
waiting to see what prices do before making any further buying decisions. The DMN 
National Retail Report-Dairy for the week of August 25-31 shows the U.S. weighted average 
advertised retail price for an 8 ounce pack of natural shredded cheese is $2.35, up $.07 
from last week. Packs average $2.65 in the Southwest and $2.20 in the Northwest. One year 
ago, the national price was $2.30. For 8 ounce blocks, the U.S. price is $2.34, down $.03 
from last week. Blocks average $2.28 in the Southwest and $2.38 in the Northwest. One 
year ago, the national price was $2.17. In the West, wholesale prices were down $.0175 
for process, and down $.0400 for cheddar block, cuts, and Monterey Jack. Swiss cut 
wholesale prices are unchanged. This week, a cooperative export assistance program 
accepted requests for export assistance on contracts to sell 487,222 pounds (221 metric 
tons) of cheese. So far this year, the program has assisted member cooperatives who have 
contracts to sell 47.5 million pounds of cheese in export markets. According to the 
California Department of Food and Agriculture, July 2017 cheese production was 213.1 
million pounds, down 0.3 percent from a year ago. California year-to-date cheese 
production through July is 1.470 billion pounds, up 0.3 percent from 2016 cheese 
production through July. In CME Group trading Wednesday, barrels closed at $1.5000, down 
$.1550 from a week ago and blocks closed at $1.5200, down $.1800. 


WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES:  DELIVERED, DOLLARS PER POUND          
(1000 - 5000 POUNDS MIXED LOTS)                                  
                                                                 
Process 5# Loaf                              : 1.7450-2.0025     
Cheddar 40# Block                            : 1.8250-2.2700     
Cheddar 10# Cuts                             : 2.0050-2.2250     
Monterey Jack 10#                            : 2.0150-2.1750     
Grade A Swiss Cuts 6 - 9#                    : 2.7500-3.1800     


1530CT Mike.Bandli@ams.usda.gov 608-422-8592
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