Market Trends: Pork Loin Leads Prices Higher
Get to know how food prices have changed and where they are going with your Market Trends Report. Each week we’ll show you how both Wholesale and Commodity prices have changed. We’ll also include an analysis of how we expect Wholesale prices to change over the coming weeks to help you make the best purchasing decisions, all for free.
Market Overview
Average Wholesale prices are up 2.14% this week, outpacing just a 0.93% increase in Commodity prices. Large increases in Pork Loin (+12.77%), Fresh Lettuce (8.74%), and Fresh Onion (7.26%) outweighed decreases in 5 of our 9 tracked categories. Here’s what went up and what went down.
Pork Loin Wholesale is up big (+12.77%) despite Commodity being down 5.66%. On the produce side, Fresh Lettuce Wholesale is up 8.74% and Fresh Onion Wholesale up 7.26%. As we predicted last week, Shell Eggs Wholesale followed the previous Commodity price and went up 2.21%.
While the average Wholesale market went up, the majority of categories actually went down. Fresh Bell Peppers were down 3.16%, Fresh Potatoes down 2.91%, and Ground Beef down 1.32%. Chicken Breast (-0.69%) and Pork Shoulder (-0.91%) stayed relatively flat.
Average Commodity price is up for the second week in a row. Labor, supply chain, and availability issues driven by Omicron will make the increases in Wholesale prices even larger in coming weeks.
Category Trends
Ground Beef
Wholesale down 1.32% while Commodity is up 1.01%. Look for Wholesale prices to increase next week.
Shell Eggs
Wholesale up 2.21% following past increases in Commodity. With Commodity flat (-0.23%) we don't expect significant upcoming increases in Wholesale.
Pork Loin
We were wrong on this one. Wholesale up a whopping 12.77% even though Commodity is down 5.66%. Is this in anticipation of Commodity prices going up or indicative of supply chain issues down the chain?
Pork Shoulder
Commodity headed up this week (+1.75%) while Wholesale dropped slightly (-0.91%). Expect Wholesale to head back up.
Fresh Lettuce
Another category with a big difference in Wholesale and Commodity. Wholesale up 8.74% while Commodity is down 1.71%. While Wholesale may continue up, it shouldn't be as severe with the lower Commodity trend.
Fresh Potatoes
Wholesale dropped 2.91%. Look for that to change signficantly in coming weeks as Commmodity is up 20.01%!
Chicken Breast
Wholesale (-0.69%) hasn't followed Commodity (+0.50%) up yet . We think that is going to change in weeks to come.
Fresh Bell Pepper
Wholesale (-3.16%) follows Commodity (-2.25%) down. Expect Wholesale to continue to track to Commodity.
Fresh Onion
Wholesale up big (7.26%) and no longer tracking with Commodity (-1.16%). If this continues, Commodity trends should at least temper price drivers in Wholesale.
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