MD_DA840 Cheese - Western U.S. Report 12 - Released on March 22, 2023 Varietal cheese demand from retail and food service purchasers is steady. Close to sold out inventories for contract sales continue to be noted by some contacts. Demand from spot market purchasers is steady and loads are available to accommodate current spot market demand. The theme of heavier barrel sales activity and lighter block sales activity continued onward this week. Despite barrel sales outpacing block sales again, barrel inventories remain ahead of block inventories. Export demand is mixed. Some stakeholders report strong to steady demand from Asian markets and more consistent sale prices holding. Export demand to other areas is reportedly steady to light and less competitive current prices compared to European and Global Dairy Trading pricing is noted. Ample milk volumes are available for cheesemakers to keep regional cheese production strong. The block-barrel spread on the CME increased to 7.50 cents, compared to 7.25 cents last Wednesday. In the West, wholesale prices are up $0.1725 for process, and up $0.0975 for cheddar block, cuts and Monterey Jack. Swiss cut wholesale prices are unchanged from the previous week. WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES: DELIVERED DOLLARS PER POUND(MIXED LOTS (1000-5000 POUNDS)) Cheddar 10 pound Cuts 2.2700-2.4700 Cheddar 40 pound Block 2.0225-2.5125 Monterey Jack 10 pounds 2.2575-2.5325 Process American 5 pound Loaf 1.9750-2.1300 Swiss 6-9 pound Cuts 2.5700-4.0000 Information for the period March 20 - 24, 2023, issued weekly Secondary Sourced Information: The Global Dairy Trading Event 328 on March 21, 2023, ended with the all contracts price at $1.8380 per pound for cheddar cheese, which represented a 10.2 percent decrease compared to Global Dairy Trading Event 327. This week, a cooperative export assistance program accepted requests for export assistance on contracts to sell 1.5 million pounds (686 metric tons) of American-type cheese and 77,000 pounds (35 metric tons) of cream cheese. So far this year, the program has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 12.4 million pounds of American-type cheeses and 2 million pounds of cream cheese in export markets. Published by: Dairy Market News - Madison, WI Andrew Mattheis, 608-422-8590 Email: andrew.mattheis@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