Beef Market Commentary for the Week Ending on April 20, 2024

1. Week Summary

• This week's story.

The prices of cattle and the values of both Select and Choice Cutouts decreased. Production increased by 14 million pounds compared to the previous week. Estimated Gross Packer Margins continued increasing, this week went from $82.6 to $84.2.

• Cutouts.

  • The Choice Cutout closed at $2.97, 3 cents less (-1.00%) than previous week and 1 cent less (-0.34%) than same week last year, when the reported figure was $2.98. (See chart).
  • The Select Cutout closed at $2.91, 6 cents less (-2.02%) than previous week and 9 cents higher (+3.19%) than same week last year, when the reported figure was $2.82. (See chart).

• Meat production.

Meat production under federal inspection was 524 million pounds, +14 million pounds (+2.75%) than previous week and +24 million pounds (+4.80%) than same week in 2023.

• • This week slaughter was 620 thousand, +17 thousand (+2.82%) vs prior week and +8.5 thousand (+1.39%) vs same week in 2023.
  • Dressed weights for the week closed at 847 pounds per head, same value than prior week and +28 pounds (+3.42%) vs same week in 2023. This is the highest value in the past five years for this week.

See chart.

• Cattle prices.

Prices of cattle continued to rise, with the negotiated cash price for Steer: Live FOB/5-Area/Over 80% Choice closing at $1.83, two cents lower (-0.02%) than previous week, and 1 cent higher (+0.55%) than in 2023 for the same week (See chart).

• Gross Packer Margins.

Our estimate for Gross Packer Margins for the week was $84.2 per head, +$1.6 (+1.94%) vs prior week and -$107.8 (-56.15%) vs same week in 2023. This is the lowest value in the past five years for this week (See chart).

*Gross Packer Margin data is only available in our Advanced Analytics suite.

2. Looking ahead

• Live Cattle Futures for June 2024 contracts closed at $1.75. For August 2024 contracts the price closed at $1.74.  
• Our 8-week forecast puts the Choice Cutout price at $2.87, -$0.10 than the current week, and the Select Cutout price at $2.78, -$0.13 than the current week.

See chart. 

*Forecasts for specific meats cuts are only available in our Advanced Analytics suite.

3. Mark your calendar

Event	Dates	Location
Congreso Internacional de la Carne	April 25-26, 2024	Guadalajara, Mexico
National Restaurant Association Show	May 18-21, 2024	Chicago, USA
EXPO PACK Mexico	June 4-7, 2024	Mexico City, Mexico

*You can find a more comprehensive list of industry events in our Events section (https://emeat.io/dashboard/events).

For more details you may consult EMEAT's Weekly Commodity Recap.