Cheese Producers News

Cheese consumption is on the rise, and markets in the Northeastern U.S. are no exception. This week, CME reported that prices of cheese blocks on industry cash exchanges closed at $1.5850 last Wednesday and jumped to $1.8625 as of report publishing time this week. In the Northeast, wholesale prices for cheddar and muenster are up $0.1475 and process cheese prices are up $0.1125, respectively. Grade A Swiss prices remain unchanged. For consumers this could mean an uptick in retail prices, so it is important for cheese producers to keep abreast of the latest market trends.

Export Assistance Program

The cooperative export assistance program recently accepted requests for export assistance on contracts to sell 254,000 pounds of American-type cheese. So far this year, the program has already assisted its members cooperatives who had contract to sell 27.5 million pounds of American-type cheese in export markets. This signals strong demand for cheese throughout the export markets in the coming months.

National Retail Report

On the retail side, according to the most recent National Retail Report, shredded cheese in 6-8-ounce packages was the most advertised conventional product, with a weighted average advertised price of $2.45, up from $2.40 the week prior. Market prices for cheese blocks on industry cash exchanges closed at $1.5850 last Wednesday and jumped to $1.8625 as of report publishing time this week.

Cold Storage

Cold storage space is also more readily available than in recent weeks, as cheese demand has increased and as inventories have changed hands. Milk volumes have also plateaued as milk volumes have seasonally declined.

Keep Up-to-date

Cheese producers should stay up-to-date on market trends to stay ahead of the competition and ensure that their pricing is competitive. Visit Otter Foods for the latest cheese news and follow us on LinkedIn for updates as soon as they come out.