MD_DA840 Cheese - Western U.S. Report 38 - Released on September 22, 2021 Demand for cheese across both retail and food service markets has held steady, in the West, this week. International demand is steady, as contacts report notable demand for export of cheese to Asian markets. Export loads are facing delays due to port congestion, causing warehouse inventories to build. A shortage of truck drivers and limited shipping supplies are causing further delays to loads, limiting available warehouse space. While warehouse inventories are high, much of these inventories represent near term contract needs. Spot purchasers report that available cheese barrel inventories have begun to tighten, while block availability is unchanged. The block/barrel price spread has narrowed since last Wednesday. The prices of barrels have climbed by $0.0875 on the CME, while the price for blocks have fallen by $0.07. Cheese production is strong in the region, as milk continues to be available for plants to run busy schedules. WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES: DELIVERED DOLLARS PER POUND(MIXED LOTS (1000-5000 POUNDS)) Cheddar 10 pound Cuts 2.1275-2.3275 Cheddar 40 pound Block 1.8800-2.3700 Monterey Jack 10 pounds 2.1150-2.3900 Process American 5 pound Loaf 1.5975-1.8525 Swiss 6-9 pound Cuts 3.1925-3.6225 Information for the period September 20 - 24, 2021, issued weekly Secondary Sourced Information: EXPORT ASSISTANCE This week, a cooperative export assistance program accepted requests for export assistance on contracts to sell 1.4 million pounds (644 metric tons) of American-type cheese and 145,000 pounds (66 metric tons) of cream cheese. So far this year, the program has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 36.8 million pounds of American-type cheeses and 9.6 million pounds of cream cheese in export markets. When combined with butter, AMF, cream cheese and whole milk powder, the program has assisted members with sales of 1.002 billion pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Published by: Dairy Market News - Madison, WI ROMAN CARAMAN, 608-422-8593 Email: roman.caraman@usda.gov Additional Dairy Market News Information: Dairy Market News (DMN) by Phone: (608)422-8602 DMN Website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy DMN MARS (My Market News): https://mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov