top of mind news
- Restaurant Revitalization Fund Leaves Behind More Questions than Answers
- Entice Returning Restaurant Guests With 2021’s Trending Beverages
- Combating the COVID-19 Labor Shortage, from a Restaurant CEO
- Teenagers Surge Back Into the Restaurant Workforce
- Seasonality Wins ‘Share of Stomach’
Poultry
Labor is still constrained across the industry, but supply is improving on some items. Jumbo wings and tenders are at premium pricing and product is difficult to find. The breast market is lower, and supply of random sizes are more available. Portion control breasts are steady with tight supplies due to labor.
Beef
With larger harvest, and buyers not currently shopping as aggressively, the market is experiencing significant corrections and the supply chain is filling with inventory. Middle meats and thin meats (i.e. ball tips/sirloin flap/tri‐tips) are leading the price correction, with larger drops in Select & No‐Roll. Grind and trim markets continue to be strong.
Pork
Demand for pork continues to remain strong. Plants are seeing an uptick in labor. Butts are coming down next week due to low retail demand. Expect this to be short lived as we get closer to July 4th holiday. Ribs are still in short supply with the hopes after the 4th that this market will see some relief. Loins like butts are also coming down due to a change in ads from retailers.
THE SEA
Seafood
Calamari shortages are widespread caused by poor catches and the pandemic. Harvests are down by 60% in 2020. Groundfish availability continues to be tight as fishermen in Alaska ramp up their efforts in the recently opened Pollock ‘B’‐ season.
THE GARDEN
Produce
Challenges remain industry‐wide with lack of labor, pallets and freight in all segments of the business, making for challenges in the executions of the supply chain flow from harvest to shipping to receiving.
THE KITCHEN SINK
Dairy
Butter markets have been in decline due to steady demand and increased milk/cream production. Cheese inventories vary from steady to growing, keeping the markets steady. Egg supplies are generally available, although extra large inventories are in closer balance than all other sizes. No reported movement in egg prices.
Grains
There was a good break in the futures market last week, which helped to alleviate some of the very high prices for soybean oil with talk of the government easing biofuel mandates. Canola markets fell a little with improved weather. Palm moved lower with the lower move in soybean oil.
