ANALYSIS: Shell Egg Prices Stabilize Amid Demand Improvements, Flock Rotations

Monday halted an almost three-week correction in the shell-egg market that saw our benchmark Midwest large quotation shed 36.7% of its value. The market in recent weeks had been weighed down by sluggish retail business after wholesale values skyrocketed to a record-high of $3.40/dozen in July. As those prices trickled down to the retail level, consumer interest faded...

UB Consulting: The Rise of HPAI Cases and the Possible Effect on Egg Prices 

The egg market has experienced increased volatility in pricing with the reemergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The virus was first redetected in December 2021 in Indiana with a turkey flock but has now spread to various layer farms across the United States. Although producers are taking precautions, market participants fear that the outbreak may rival the impacts of the HPAI outbreak in 2015 that led to a significant supply shock...

Cal-Maine Foods Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2022 Results

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. reported results for the third quarter of fiscal 2022 (thirteen weeks) and 39-week period ended February 26, 2022.

Net sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 increased 33.0 percent to $477.5 million compared to $359.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2021. The Company reported net income of $39.5 million, or $0.81 per basic and diluted common share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2022, compared to net income of $13.5 million, or $0.28 per basic...

This Week in Retail: Steak Features See Boost from Warmer Weather; Eyeing HPAI

Sunday marked the official start of spring. For retailers, that means grilling season is rapidly approaching, and with it—the opportunity for increased meat sales.

Steak features surged this week, accounting for 50.5 percent of total beef ads—up 16 percentage points from the week prior. Feature volume for roasts, meanwhile, has decreased, falling from 38.2 percent last week to 23.2 percent this week.

This week in retail, the steak complex averages $8.12 per pound, up 12.8 percent from a year ago. Boneless strip steaks are widely featured at grocery outlets across the nation and average $11.68 per pound, up 36 percent from a year ago. Top sirloin steaks are up 3.3 percent YoY at $5.64 per pound while bottom round steaks clock in at $5.54 per pound, up a whopping 68.4 percent from this week last year...