News

What’s up with the price of blocks and barrels? Exports

The cheese market has seen an unusual trend lately. Normally, the per-pound price of 40-pound Cheddar cheese blocks is higher than 500-pound Cheddar cheese barrels. Beginning around February 9th, barrels began commanding more money per pound than blocks… and depending on the day, sometimes significantly more. 

Market advisor Katie Burgess with Ever.ag tells Brownfield that like most dairy products, exports and the world market are influencing prices.  “There are cheesemakers out there who, when they can export cheese, they make cheese for export and when they don’t have those export orders, they make cheese for the domestic market, and a lot of times, it ends up in Chicago.” 

Blocks were once again commanding a larger price than barrels as of late last week, but that didn’t last. As of the close of Wednesday’s trading session at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, barrels were selling for four and a half cents a pound more than blocks. “And so, given that barrels have such a strong run over blocks the past few weeks, it signals that those cheesemakers were probably busy making export cheese.” 

Blocks are generally used to make slices or packages of shredded cheese, while barrels are usually melted to make processed cheese but have been used for other types of cheese products.