MD_DA840 Cheese - Western U.S. Report 38 - Released on September 18, 2019 Western block cheese availability is very tight. As a result, prices are higher than usual. According to industry contacts, some domestic buyers are reluctant to make purchases above their immediate needs as they believe that the prices are inflated. Meanwhile, block cheese continues to move well through the CME. Overall, cheese production remains active with enough milk finding its way to the vats. Mozzarella demand is improving due to increased pizza sales in the region. Barrel cheese stocks are accessible because sales are not as strong as blocks. The gap between blocks and barrels has been above 20 cents for the past two weeks, so many people are asking one question: What will happen to market conditions moving forward? The strong value of the dollar is not helping with export sales. Low feed costs are likely to result in more milk production and subsequently more cheese output, which could impact the cheese market tone. In the West, wholesale prices were up $.1100 for process, and up $.1300 for cheddar block, cuts and Monterey Jack. Swiss cut wholesale prices are unchanged from a week ago. National Retail Report Dairy ± Cheese Summary Advertised Prices at Major Retail Supermarket Outlets ending during the period of 9/13/2019 to 9/19/2019 Cheese 8 oz. Blocks Weighted Average Price National This Period Last Week Last Year Conventional $2.12 $2.10 $2.28 Organic $3.49 $3.49 $5.99 Regional (Conventional) Wtd. Ave. Low High Northwest $2.03 $1.69 $3.00 Southwest $2.78 $2.50 $3.00 Regional (Organic) Wtd. Ave. Low High South Central $3.49 $3.49 $3.49 Cheese 8 oz. Shred Weighted Average Price National This Period Last Week Last Year Conventional $2.28 $2.31 $2.30 Organic $3.49 $3.79 $2.99 Regional (Conventional) Wtd. Ave. Low High Northwest $2.51 $1.69 $3.00 Southwest $2.65 $2.00 $3.00 Regional (Organic) Wtd. Ave. Low High South Central $3.49 $3.49 $3.49 WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES: DELIVERED DOLLARS PER POUND(MIXED LOTS (1000-5000 POUNDS)) Cheddar 10 pound Cuts 2.4300-2.6300 Cheddar 40 pound Block 2.1825-2.6725 Monterey Jack 10 pounds 2.4175-2.6925 Process American 5 pound Loaf 1.9500-2.2050 Swiss 6-9 pound Cuts 2.8625-3.2925 Information for the period September 16 - 20, 2019, issued weekly Secondary Sourced Information: This week, a cooperative export assistance program accepted requests for export assistance on contracts to sell 456,357 pounds (207 metric tons) of cheddar. So far this year, the program has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 41.7 million pounds of American-type and Swiss cheeses in export markets. When combined with butter, cream cheese, anhydrous milkfat, and whole milk powder, the program has assisted members with sales of 818.2 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. In CME Group trading Wednesday, barrels closed at $1.7850, compared to the weekly average price of $1.8480 from last week. Blocks closed at $2.1175, compared to the weekly average price of $2.0990 from last week. Published by: Dairy Market News - Madison, WI FLORENCE KONE-GONZALEZ, (608)422-8594 Email: florence.konegonzalez@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