Insights / Commodities Report

Charcuterie board with meats and cheese

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce Produce markets face ongoing challenges due to the transition from Salinas to Yuma and compounded by past weather effects, pests, and incoming cold temperatures. Supplies of key items like broccoli, endive, and escarole remain tight, with limited availability projected through November, while extreme shortages are expected for items like bok choy and artichokes. Avocado volumes from Mexico look strong heading into the Super Bowl, though small sizes will dominate until late December. In the Southeast, crop volatility from hurricane damage is impacting numerous crops, including citrus, tomatoes, and peppers, signaling potential price increases and quality issues in the coming weeks.   Grain Soybean oil (SBO) prices surged to a three-month high, influenced by rising palm oil futures, increased biofuel demand in Indonesia, and a recent flash sale of 30,000 metric tons of SBO to India, marking the first sale since March 2022. India’s significant

Vegetables

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce The produce market faces ongoing challenges as growers transition between regions, with lasting effects from heat, pest issues, and recent hurricanes impacting availability and prices. Romaine, iceberg lettuce, broccoli, and other leafy greens are seeing reduced volumes due to heat stress and pest damage, while crops in the Southeast, including citrus and tomatoes, are heavily affected by recent hurricanes, leading to significant supply losses. High demand persists for items like avocados and table grapes, though the grape season may end early due to heat-related losses, and mushrooms remain constrained across all varieties.   Grain The grains market remained relatively stable, with soybean oil and corn seeing slight gains. Soybean oil’s increase was largely driven by rising palm oil prices, though U.S. fundamentals may not support a prolonged rally. Corn export sales, however, continued at an impressive pace, with recent sales totaling 3.6 million metric

Meat poultry

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce The combination of heat, ongoing pest pressures, and severe weather issues in the eastern U.S. will continue to create challenges in the coming weeks. We will closely monitor the situation and keep everyone updated as we navigate through what promises to be a hectic October for the industry. Although the weather in Salinas has cooled slightly, the lingering effects of recent heat will continue to be felt. Certain crops, including endive, escarole, leeks, cilantro, and fennel, remain escalated, with bok choy at an extreme trigger point due to light supplies.   Grain Soybean oil futures moved lower last week with excellent crop progress 10% above last year. Last week the WASDE report from the USDA was not very impactful to the market. Canola seed futures rose, Canola oil moved slightly higher. Palm continues to be higher. Corn, soybeans, meal, oil, and wheat all moved

Fresh fish and seafood platter

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce Hurricanes Helene and Milton, combined with unfavorable weather in the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala, as well as port delays and insect pressure in California, are causing significant disruptions to multiple commodities. Market prices remain high, and yields from the East are considerably lower. With the devastation from Hurricane Helene across the Southeast and Florida now hit by Hurricane Milton, the supply of fresh produce from South Georgia and Florida is expected to be extremely volatile. Impacted commodities include Citrus, Corn, Cotton, Tomatoes, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Peanuts, Strawberries, and more.   Grain Soybean oil futures moved higher with increased energy costs which is impacting palm and Canola, too. The energy markets are much higher because of tensions in the middle east.   Dairy Shell egg markets are up this week. California and Northwest markets are up. Many buyers, anticipating a potential market uptick, are looking

Charcuterie board with meats and cheese

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce Hurricane Helene, unfavorable weather patterns across the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala, port delays, and insect pressure in California are affecting multiple commodities. These issues have led to continued higher market prices and lower overall yields.   Grain Soybean oil futures traded higher last week with concerns of dry South American weather ahead of their planting. Crude oil moved higher, Canola, was higher, and palm oil were higher, too. There is also a strike looming by the Longshoreman which will disrupt imports and exports for all agricultural products.   Dairy Shell egg markets are down this week. California and Northwest markets are flat. The Block & Barrel are decreasing. Butter is down. Market participants are closely monitoring the potential impacts of Hurricane Helene and port strikes along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts.   Beef The SE Region demand is being impacted by hurricane Helene.

Vegetables

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce Hurricane Helene, unfavorable weather patterns in the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala, and insect pressure in California are affecting multiple commodities. These issues have led to continued higher market prices and lower overall yields.   Grain Soybean oil futures traded higher with reports of very tight stocks with good biofuel demand. Canola has moved higher with speculative trading. Palm continues to move higher and is pressuring soybean oil. Olive oil has flattened as oil stocks are poor and demand has increased with the lower market.   Dairy Shell egg markets are down this week. California and Northwest markets are down. After a 55% drop over the past four weeks, breaking stock values appear to have hit a point of stabilization. The Block is decreasing & Barrel are increasing. Barrel hit a record high and the spread between barrel and Block has widened. Butter is down.

Meat poultry

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce Tropical storm Francine, unfavorable weather patterns in the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala, and insect pressure in California are affecting multiple commodities. These issues have led to continued higher market prices and lower overall yields. The weather in the Salinas Valley is gradually becoming cooler. Recent warm rains have created conditions conducive to mildew, prompting growers to implement all possible mitigation strategies.   Grain Soybean oil futures moved lower approximately 2% last week as stocks are improving. Helping push soybean oil down is the heavy crushing currently taking place for meal. However, very dry weather in Ohio and drought in South America has traders concerned, which is supporting soybean oil. Canola is expected to move lower.   Dairy Shell egg markets are down this week. California and Northwest markets are down. The Block & Barrel are increasing. CME spot cheese prices rallied up to new

Fresh fish and seafood platter

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce Tropical storm Francine and adverse weather conditions in the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala are impacting various commodities. This situation is expected to result in prolonged elevated market prices and possible supply shortages. The temperatures in the Salinas Valley are beginning to drop.   Grain Soybean oil futures finished the week slightly down vs. the previous week. The weaker energy markets and some technical data appear to be the driving reasons for the decline. Stats Canada released its data for Canola, and the expected yield has increased for seed. Palm oil moved lower last week after several weeks of higher moves.   Dairy Shell egg markets are down this week. California and Northwest markets are down. The Block & Barrel are increasing. U.S. cheese exports in July were up 10.1% YoY. Butter is down, after hitting new record highs in the middle of last week,

Charcuterie board with meats and cheese

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce Unfavorable weather patterns across the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala are affecting multiple commodities, leading to anticipated sustained high market prices and potential supply shortages. The Salinas Valley is experiencing warmer weather than typical for this time of year.   Grain Soybean oil futures moved higher last week. The move looked to be technical in nature, and we saw traders rolling their September futures to October futures. The Canadian rail strike seems to be at an end and weather is good on the Canadian prairies for the Canola crop. Palm oil moved higher with lower palm production.   Dairy Shell egg markets are down this week except for Mediums are up. The Block is increasing & Barrel are decreasing. With U.S. cheese stocks down significantly YoY and cheese prices in Europe spiking, the risk is to the upside for CME cheese. Butter is up with

Vegetables

Commodities Report

Alerts & What’s Trending   Produce Tropical Storm Debby and adverse weather conditions in Mexico and Guatemala are affecting multiple commodities, leading to anticipated extended high market prices and potential supply shortages. The weather conditions in Salinas are favorable, and although a few commodities are experiencing challenges, we are observing consistent supplies and quality.   Grain Soybean oil futures continued lower last week. US beans and South American beans are parity for pricing, so they are very competitive. Despite the much lower price, soybean oil stocks are tight as biodiesel producers are buying it up. Canada is about to have a rail strike causing problems for Canola. Palm oil has remained flat.   Dairy Shell egg markets are up this week. California and Northwest markets are up. The Block & Barrel are increasing. Butter is up.   Beef The market continues to be uneventful. Middle meat inventories continue to be