Cheddar Cheese Prices National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released April 3, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Cheddar Cheese Prices" call Shawn Clark at (202) 720-4448, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Cheddar Cheese Prices Decline Prices received for 500 lb. Barrel Cheddar cheese decreased 4.5 cents per lb. for the week ending March 27, 1998. Barrel prices have declined each of the last five weeks. The price of US 40 lb. Blocks decreased 0.6 cents per pound. This is the sixth consecutive week of decreasing US 40 lb. Block prices. Data Reliability: The survey collects price information on sales of natural, unaged, Cheddar cheese at the first (wholesale) point of sale. Data are recorded for sales transactions completed during the survey week. A transaction is considered complete when cheese is shipped out or title transfers. The 65 plants reporting account for an estimated 85 percent of natural Cheddar cheese sales. Estimates for only the current month are subject to revision. Only electronic subscriptions are available for this report. Print copies are available at USDA, Room 5829, SO. Bldg. This report is also available on autofax at (202) 720-2000. For Internet access, go to the NASS Home Page at: http://www.usda.gov/nass/. Da 2-8 (4-98) Cheddar Cheese Prices by Style and Region -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending Style and Region :----------------------------------------------------------- : Mar 27, : Mar 20, : Mar 13, : Mar 6, : Feb 27, : 1998 : 1998 1/ : 1998 1/ : 1998 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dol./Lb. 40 Lb. Blocks : Avg. Price 2/ : MN/WI : 1.3968 1.4064 1.4097 1.4108 1.4539 West 3/ : 1.3506 1.3553 1.3647 1.3700 1.4064 US 4/ : 1.3607 1.3669 1.3744 1.3785 1.4157 : : Pounds Sales Volume 5/ : MN/WI : 858,304 855,993 1,073,059 906,109 859,573 West 3/ : 4,259,700 4,189,886 4,807,291 4,828,143 4,540,749 US 4/ : 5,324,932 5,454,759 6,170,203 5,982,523 5,570,529 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dol./Lb. 640 Lb. Blocks : Avg. Price 2/ : US : 1.3832 1.3895 1.3706 1.3877 1.4256 : : Pounds Sales Volume 5/ : US : 559,698 1,519,954 1,616,637 1,781,131 2,042,136 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dol./Lb. 500 Lb. Barrels : Avg. Price 2/ : MN/WI : 1.4153 1.4524 1.4716 1.4902 1.5152 Oth : 1.4020 1.4490 1.4592 1.4850 1.5033 US : 1.4070 1.4504 1.4639 1.4873 1.5082 : Price Adj. to : 39% Moisture : MN/WI : 1.3199 1.3595 1.3772 1.3884 1.4155 Oth : 1.2907 1.3385 1.3513 1.3686 1.3980 US : 1.3016 1.3470 1.3611 1.3772 1.4052 : : Pounds Sales Volume 5/ : MN/WI : 3,933,371 3,862,602 3,555,279 3,816,217 2,995,159 Oth : 6,469,280 5,648,343 5,741,804 4,921,249 4,300,204 US :10,402,651 9,510,945 9,297,083 8,737,466 7,295,363 : : Percent Moisture Content : MN/WI : 34.59 34.83 34.82 34.53 34.70 Oth : 33.74 33.97 34.13 33.81 34.41 US : 34.06 34.32 34.39 34.12 34.53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 2/ Prices weighted by volumes reported. 3/ CA, ID, OR, and WA. 4/ "Other Regions" included in U.S. total. 5/ Sales as reported by cooperating manufacturers.