An Expensive Cinco De Mayo

Beef demand is not backing down, consumer demand for protein continues to increase even as our beef industry continues to contract. No doubt aided by the JBS strike, beef production was only 508K head last week and I expect we will see similar numbers for this week. The market is tight, there is just not that much beef coming to market. Prices are moving higher pretty much across the board. Middle meats, those strips, ribeyes and tenderloins continue to lead this market higher. Thin meats, skirt, flank, sirloin flap, all tight and moving higher, setting up a very expensive Cinco de Mayo. I will continue to recommend buying as soon as feasible, waiting in this market will cost you money, and with the tight inventory,I’d keep as far ahead on needs as possible. I think I say this every year but the summer grilling season will be expensive.POULTRY Chicken demand continues strong as well as production which continues about 2% over last year. Even with strong supply, prices are moving higher. Wings come out of their funk moving up a few pennies while boneless skinless random breasts and clipped tenders are moving up every day. I do expect chicken to continue moving higher over the next few weeks.On the avian flu front, another 15 new cases affecting 130K birds, this week, mostly ducks.GRAINS – the recent run up on soy and canola has hit a pause, week two holding onto recent gains, but not advancing further. There is still plenty of inventory to meet demand. Corn and wheat continue to tread in the same narrow trading band, we have plenty of grains to move.PORK Pork bellies down a dollar from last week to $152, I still expect we could see $200 bellies this summer. Pork production is good, well supplied. Loins are moving higher by a few cents, butts and ribs holding steady.DAIRY Dairy markets had a fairly quiet week, butter is steady, block is up 3 and barrel is up 2. I do think we have more upside to this market.OK with that I’m done, thanks for listening, we’ll do agaiSavalfoods.com | Find us on Social Media: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn