COMMODITY FOOD MARKET UPDATES: w/o April 3, 2023

CATEGORY	NEAR-TERM MARKET PRICING TREND	SUPPLY vs. DEMAND	DSR MARKET INSIGHTS COMMENTARY
Beef (Commodity)	Stable	Available - Steady	The nation's beef packers continue to take on and improve their weekly forward sold position going into Memorial weekend. Seasonal middle meats price increases will be in full swing by the 3rd week of April. Plan ahead.
Butter	Stable	Available - Steady	As of March 24, butter makers are running active production schedules across all regions. In the East increased cream cheese and ice cream production has been drawing on cream supplies, and availability for butter making is tightening. Contacts in the region anticipate greater cream availability as spring flush begins. Central region stakeholders say cream offers are quieter this week, and some butter makers are sourcing loads from the West to meet their current churning needs. Organic cream volumes are more available in the Central region than conventional cream. Cream volumes are plentiful in the West, and stakeholders say demand is steady to light. Some processors in the East are, reportedly, running seven days a week and freezing some bulk butter. In the West, some butter makers are operating at reduced capacity as equipment is undergoing repair. Contacts in the region note steady demand for butter. Eastern butter contacts note steady to higher demand, while contacts in the Central region say sales are on par to busy. Bulk butter overages range from 0 to 10 cents above the market, across all regions.
Cheese	Stable	Available - Steady	As of March 24, milk is available for processing throughout the country. Contacts in the Northeast say regional dryer challenges have freed some milk volumes intended for nonfat dry milk production. In the Midwest, loads of milk continue to move as low as $11 under Class III, but some cheesemakers say they are not receiving offers quite as low this week. Cheesemakers in the Northeast and West are operating strong production schedules. In the Midwest, some cheesemakers say their output is lagging demand, despite strong regional milk availability. Strong cheese production in the Northeast is contributing to growing cheese inventories, while retail and food service demands are steady in the region. Spot loads of cheese are available to meet market demands in the West. Contacts report steady demand from domestic spot purchasers in the West. Exports of cheese from the West are mixed. Some stakeholders note strong demand from purchasers in Asian markets, while lighter demand is present for loads to ship to other regions.
Fluid Dairy	Class I - Lower Class II - Higher	Class I Available - Steady Class II Short - Strong	April Milk (Class I) slight decrease. Cultured (Class II) small increase. UHT Cream remains demand exceeds supply. May have to offer fresh cream as an alternative. Fluid Dairy shortage worst in the northeast and has expanded across the southeast and north central areas. Five 5 major plants closed in 2022. FL, SC, AL, MS & IL.
Oils, Shortening, Margarine	Stable	Available -Steady	The price of commodity frying oils is highly dependent on fluctuations with in the stock market. If overall commodities are trading up or down, soybeans typically can follow those trends. Palm, canola, cotton, sunflower, etc. typically follow the pattern of soybean, when it comes to oil prices. The stock market has been a major contributor to the higher pricing on all oils within the past couple of years. Supply and demand has also had some impact. However, supply is solid in recent months and has not had much impact on oil pricing. All eyes will be watching the erratic stock market over the next few weeks to see if there will be any major impact on soybeans. Prices are slightly lower than they were at the beginning of the year, but it is still largely unknown if this trend will continue longer term. Near term pricing will likely not reflect much change.
Pork (Commodity)	Increasing	Available - Increasing	As Memorial Day approaches, all commodities - demand and prices for butts, spareribs, St. Louis Spares, Backribs, and Loins are on the rise.
Pork (Value-Added)	Stable	Available – Steady	With the price of bellies increasing from here through August, expect the price of bacon to increase as well. Increased prices of pork trim will also lead to higher prices for sausage, franks, and pizza toppings.
Poultry (Chicken)	Increasing	Available – Steady	Boneless breast meat prices remained stable this week. Medium and small wings have remained steady this week, while jumbo took a slight decline. Tenders have started to tighten in supply which is causing an increase in price. Demand on whole chickens and WOGS remains steady and in tight supply across the board. Demand for the back half of the bird remains steady and limited supply available.
Poultry (Turkey)	Decreasing	Short – High	Fresh Breast meat prices have continued to soften. Availability on whole toms and hens is scarce with prices remaining at record highs. Turkey availability is expected to remain tight due to continued impacts of HPAI.
Produce	Lower: Onions Stable: Iceberg & Romaine, Oranges, Tomatoes, Apples & Limes Increasing: Avocados, Carrots, Strawberries & Idaho Potatoes	Improving to Steady: Tomatoes, Iceberg & Romaine Good to Strong: Avocados & Onions Short to Strong: Oranges, Strawberries, Limes, Carrots, Apples & Idaho Russet Potatoes	Avocados: Lighter supply from Mexico; nice quality; pricing rising Iceberg, Romaine and Hearts: Steady; good supply. Expect external blister, peel and pink rib; quality and weights above average. Tomatoes: pricing steady. Mexico & Florida shipping. Quality good. Strawberries: CA rain caused shortage. Pricing higher with average quality. Apples: Low inventories and elevated markets until late August 2023. Oranges (Navels): Supplies ample; pricing steady; quality good. Limes: Prices are steady but expected to climb through April. Onions: ID/OR supply go through April. New crop Texas shipping. Idaho Russet Potatoes: quality is good; #2's are extremely limited; prices remain elevated due to short crop; no relief until August 2023.
Bulk Sugar	Increasing	Mixed/Steady	Sugar supply is not as ample as preferred to cover foodservice markets. This is based on a less than desirable crop harvest in fall of 2022. Some suppliers are in extremely tight supply. This is causing limited availability in some markets and may impact pricing as we move through summer. Prices have remained relatively steady thus far in 2023, but the long term forecast is largely unknown at this time.
Shell Eggs	Stable	Available - Strong	As of March 29, consumer demand in the near-term declines as the Easter marketing period is just getting underway and anticipated demand has yet to develop. Wholesale prices for cartooned eggs are on the decline as needs for Easter have been met. Offerings and supplies are light to moderate. Demand is moderate and trading is slowing. Prices on the loose egg market are on the decline holding as offerings remain light and supplies are moderate. Demand is moderate to good, and trading is slowing. Wholesale breaking stock prices are moving lower as offerings and supplies are increasing. Trading is moderate. The preliminary survey of retail outlets indicates increased promotional activity for conventional shell eggs as the Easter marketing season begins. The average price falls sharply as Easter deals hit the circulars. promotional activity for conventional shell egg types with a sharp rise in the average ad price on the limited test.
Seafood	Crab meat Steady	Crab meat Available - Steady	Blue swimming crab meat has started to increase in price on colossal, jumbo lump and claw, while the remaining sizes remain steady. Red Swimming crab meat prices have also started to increase on colossal and jumbo lump, while special took a decrease.
Wheat (Flour Based Products)	Stable	Available – Steady	Bulk commodity flour prices have not changed dramatically so far this year. As we close out the first quarter of the year, it is still largely unknown what the price levels will look like for the second and third quarters. Speculators are still watching world wheat prices, and still have some concerns regarding the Russia/Ukraine conflict. Pricing has not made any dramatic changes in recent weeks and we are not expecting any major fluctuations in the near-term. Wheat based finished-goods are still maintaining higher than historic prices. Those prices are not expected to change much as we move through spring.
Plastics	Decreasing	Available - Steady	Due to reduced economic activity and sluggish demand, markets are unremarkable moving to slightly lower. Several resin crackers have reacted by taking machines down for maintenance to keep pace. It was emphasized supply is fine and abundant where needed.
All UniPro Foodservice DSR Market Insights information is based on domestic US market data only, unless indicated otherwise. The UniPro Foodservice Market DSR Insights update is not a recommendation to buy or sell a commodity. While this update is based on sources we believe to be reliable and accurate, UniPro Foodservice does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented.