CME: Cheese Production Growth Slowed in 2011

US - Butter and cheese were offered lower in this morning’s spot auction. Cheese futures continued to tumble, falling 1.5¢ in the FEB-AUG contracts, writes Alan Levitt, in Wednesday's dairy report.
calendar icon 9 February 2012
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Just four weeks after hitting contract highs, MAR and APR Class III futures have fallen to their lowest levels in more than a year. The two contracts average $15.57, down from $17.79 in mid-January.

Total US cheese production in 2011 was 10.61 billion lbs., up just 1.7% from the prior year, according to USDA’s latest “Dairy Products” report (see chart). This is the secondsmallest increase in the last eight years. From 1996-2011, cheese production increased 2.6% per year.

In 2011, cheddar production was down 2.6%, while mozzarella output was up 2.4% and production of other varieties was up 4.7%.

CWT accepted bids to provide export assistance on sales of 3.8 million lbs. of cheese and 3.4 million lbs. of butter for delivery through June. The California Weighted Average NDM Price (CWAP) for last week was $1.3621, down 1.6¢ from the prior week. Sales volume was 19.7 million lbs.

Further Reading

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