February 22nd, 2016

with HPC Foodservice Bi-Weekly Newsletter

In the Loop

PRODUCE UPDATE

PRODUCE UPDATE

www.hpcfs.com 800.883.9800

625 Nutmeg Rd., North

South Windsor, CT 06074

Round Tomatoes- The weather down south continues to follow the same pattern it has this winter and the weather continues to take its toll on tomato yields out of eastern fields. Last week, the southern growing areas received around 4 inches of rainfall and were hit with winds gusting close to 50 mph. Supplies of all sizes remain very tight. However, the product crossing from Mexico continues to increase which helps to put downward pressure on the eastern markets as well. Oddly, the supply of smaller tomatoes seems to be tighter than the supply of large tomatoes. This rare condition of this market is referred to as an inverse market condition. Quality continues to be good. The shortage is being caused more by a harvest yield issue rather than a quality issue.

Green Bell Pepper- Lighter volume and strong demand on the East coast is putting upward pressure on market prices. Quality still remains generally good. Look for supplies to remain somewhat weak into next week and then conditions should start to improve.

In the Loop with HPC Foodservice

PRODUCE UPDATE, cont.

Due to discontinuation by the manufacturer

HPC #53247 120/1.4 oz Planters Peanut Butter Crackers (6 count)

has been converted to

HPC #53246 96/1.38 oz Austin Peanut Butter Crackers (6 count)

Cucumbers- The off-shore product coming from Honduras continues to unload. This market is steady with some upward pressure caused by the less than ideal conditions on the east coast. The quality of the off-shore product continues to be good, however, they are getting to the end of that season and there will be some variables as we come to the end of their crop.

Iceberg Lettuce- The Lettuce market has been very active as of late. Harvesting crews have been maxed out and shippers have been selling out daily. Supplies are fairly normal but pounds per acre have been below normal due to the smaller growth of the product. This seems to be an industry wide issue typically caused by cool temperatures. To that point, higher temperatures are expected and should increase sizes and yields for the balance of this week. Quality has been steady. If demand continues, the markets should stay at these current levels.

In the Loop with HPC Foodservice

Date: Thursday, March 31st, 2016

Location: Cheshire House, 3396 East Main St, Waterbury, CT 06705

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ServSafe™ Certification Program

Contact your Account Executive or Nick Rosati at

nrosati@hpcfs.com or 860.760.3941

More Information Coming Soon!

In the Loop with HPC Foodservice

In the Loop with HPC Foodservice

In the Loop with HPC Foodservice

In the Loop with HPC Foodservice

In the Loop with HPC Foodservice

COMMODITIES

BEEF-Grinds- Market is weaker. Demand has been lighter the past few weeks and helping to put downward pressure on the

market. Loins- Market is mostly steady. Rounds- Market is steady to weaker. Light demand and available inventories are

helping to put downward pressure on the market. Chucks- Market is steady to weaker. Demand has been lighter moving into

this week and helping to put pressure on the market. Ribs- Market is mostly steady.

PORK-Bellies- Market is mostly steady. Demand from both retail and foodservice has been good but current production is

keeping up with the demand and limiting upward pressure. Hams- Market is steady to weaker. Demand for export has been

lighter and retail demand has eased as most buyers have already covered their needs for Easter. Loins- Market is mostly

steady. Demand at retail has been light coming into this week. Butts- Market is steady. Ribs- Market is mostly steady.

POULTRY- CHICKEN- Trading this week is very basic with both retail and foodservice demand just fair. Sales are mostly flat

which is typical of the month of February. Boneless breasts are barley steady with markets seeing some decreases this week.

WOGs and whole birds are rated about steady. Spot market activity is fair. Tenders are mixed but considered steady overall.

Wings have seen downturn in the markets with spot market activity rated dull. With several weeks until March Madness de-

mand should start to increase. Dark meat overall is steady to full steady. Bone in dark meat rated about steady to steady.

Frozen drumstick however have increased this week as sales into export markets take place. Estimated slaughter ending

week of 2/20/16 is 159.6 million head. TURKEY- Buyers appear to be purchasing more hand to mouth with markets overall

quiet on most lines. Some suppliers discounting to move out product on frozen breast meat and tenders. Thigh meat trades at

current levels. Consumer sized breasts are rated about steady to steady. Majority of parts is rated just fair. Frozen whole birds

are rated full steady.

SEAFOOD-Gulf Shrimp- Market is steady. Demand has been slower the past few weeks and helping to hold the market

steady. Black Tiger Shrimp- Market is steady. White Shrimp- Market is steady to firmer. The market for 21-25 and 26-30 CT

HLSO product of both Latin America and Asia is steady to firmer with an improved demand putting upward pressure on the

market. The remainder of the market is holding mostly steady. King Crab- Market is unsettled. The market for product of

Alaska moved slightly lower this week with good inventories for a fair demand. The market for product of Russia pushed

higher due to light inventories for an active demand. Snow Crab- Market is steady to firmer. Inventories are light for an active

demand. Warm Water Lobster Tails- Market is mixed. The market for 9 oz. and larger is steady to weaker due to inventories

being more available on the larger sizes due this year’s catch has seen larger sized product. The market for 8 oz. and small-

er sizes is steady to firmer due to the more limited inventories. North American Lobster Tails- Market is unsettled. The market

for tails is unsettled as current season fishing is helping to bring additional product to market. The market has been seeing

downward pressure coming into this week. The market for lobster meat is steady but firm due to the active demand we have

seen for the past several months and the limited available inventories. Salmon- Market is mixed. The market for product of

Europe is firm with light inventories for current demand. Reports of mostly smaller sized fish being available is helping to put

additional pressure on the market. The market for product of Chile has seen upward pressure coming into this week with de-

mand being very good. The market for product from other regions is steady to slightly weaker with good inventories for cur-

rent demand. Cod- Market is steady to firmer. High raw material prices combined with improved demand has helped to put

upward pressure on the market. Demand is expected to be good as we move thru Lent. Haddock- Market is mostly

steady. Demand has been improved and expected to be stronger as we move thru Lent. Pollock- Market is steady to firm-

er. Light inventories on larger sized single frozen product has been keeping upward pressure on the market. The rest of the

market is holding mostly steady. Demand is expected to be improved as we move thru the next month. Domestic Catfish-

Market is mostly steady. Demand is expected to be improved as we move thru Lent. Recent reports show that warmer than

usual temperatures have helped to result in larger sized fish and has resulted in few smaller sized fish being available. Tilap-

ia- Market is mostly steady. Recent reports show that total Tilapia imports for 2015 were down 2.74% compared to 2014 and

were down 4.41% on frozen fillets. Swai- Market is unsettled. Recent changes in legislation will put additional audits and

checks on Swai imports. Expectations are that because of the length of time to do the additional checks that imports could be

slower to come to market over the coming months. Recent reports show that Swai imports surged higher to end last year up

almost 11% higher than 2014 year end. Scallops- Market is mostly steady. Recent reports show that imports for 2015 were

19% lower than prior year. China is the largest importer of scallops to the US but production issues combined with their own

increased domestic consumption has been limiting availability. Imports from Peru were sharply lower with a 67% decrease

over prior year. Smaller quotas the past two years helped to push the domestic market to records highs with pricing holding at

those high levels the past few months.

DAIRY- CHEESE-Market is mostly steady. The CME Block and Barrel markets have both held steady coming into this week

after seeing slight increases for the prior 2 weeks. Production has been good across the country with reports showing that in-

ventories have been building. BUTTER- Market is weaker. The CME Butter market opened this week below prior week and

has inched lower as the week has progressed. Butter production is seasonally strong as cream suppliers are available across

the country. Demand for export has been light and helping inventories to build.

EGGS- Market soft as egg prices break from record January highs. This was due to shift in supply and demand to push costs

up from pre-holiday lows in December. Now market leveling out. Retail demand fair preparing for the Easter holiday. Produc-

tion down 8% from last year, down 2% from last month.

SOY- Crude and higher energy prices seem to be the driving force for soy oil increases as of late. Although this week has been

up and down, nothing major to move market to previous week’s lows. Export sales are up, smaller crush last week all support

gains. News to watch; Iran letting all know they now have plenty of oil to export due to recent lifting of economic sanctions. This

could cause markets to move as soy oil seems to follow crude.

In the Loop with HPC Foodservice

HPC Foodservice

625 Nutmeg Rd., North

South Windsor, CT 06074

800.883.9800

www.hpcfs.com

Featured Member from our Premium Supplier Network

February 27th- National Chili Day

March - National Flour Month

March– National Nutrition Month

March 13th– Daylight Savings Time Begins

March 17th– St. Patrick’s Day

March 20th– National Ravioli Day

March 25th– Good Friday

March 27th– Easter

April– National BLT Sandwich Month

April– National Grilled Cheese Month

April– 1st April Fool’s Day

April 22nd - Passover Begins at Sundown

Featured Items this week!

Hoff's Bakery is a family owned business located in Medford, Massachusetts. They

have been producing gourmet desserts for the retail and food services trades

since 1983.

Hoff's Bakery has been built on quality, consistency, and service that both

customers and they themselves demand. Skilled artisan bakers are committed to

creating the highest quality desserts possible. Because they select the finest

ingredients and properly package the hand crafted desserts, they guarantee

superior quality and consistency. They know their desserts will arrive at your

location in the same condition they left their bakery!

Upcoming HOLIDAYS & NOTEWORTHY EVENTS

For a complete list of Polar

Beverages items stocked at

HPC Foodservice, contact your

Sales Representative.

#53627 12/1 liter Diet Gingerale

#53633 12/1 liter Gingerale

#42524 12/1 liter Root Beer

#53620 24/12 oz Regular Cola

#53622 24/12 oz Orange