TOP STORIES 
 

Hong Kong Lifts Suspension on Most Brazilian Meat -- Market Talk

11:24 ET - Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety has lifted its suspension on imports of most Brazilian meat. The suspension will remain in place for products from 21 Brazilian slaughterhouses that are under investigation by the country's police for suspected corruption regarding the issuing of health certificates, the Centre said. Hong Kong had suspended all imports of Brazilian beef and poultry shortly after Brazil announced the investigation. The Hong Kong health authorities said they'll continue a program of enhanced surveillance of Brazilian meat and poultry, which has already taken 66 samples at the import and retail levels. Tests of those samples found all of them to be satisfactory, the Centre said. (jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com)

Turkey Glut Has Brazil Farmers Worried -- Update

MINEIROS, Brazil -- The seven climate-controlled barns of the Santa Luzia turkey farm here are getting crowded. The 35,000 birds who had so much room when they were skinny, dull-feathered poults are plump and white and ready for table.

No slaughterhouse will take them, though, and along with the birds, worries are growing in this steamy, poultry-centered town.

 
   STORIES OF INTEREST 
 

Darden Hopes to Learn Value Lessons From Cheddar's -- Market Talk

15:59 ET - Darden (DRI) owner of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, says it can learn a lot from its new acquisition Cheddar's. Late yesterday DRI said it was buying the Texas-based chain for $780M. DRI executives say Cheddar's has a long history of under-pricing the industry, by cooking from scratch, which enables them to make high-quality food for a little bit lower price. "I think there's a lot that we can learn from them about value," DRI CEO Gene Lee said. Meanwhile, DRI's scale can help boost Cheddar's profits. It's restaurant-level profit margin is around 17%, compared to more than 20% at DRI in the latest quarter. DRI also talked about opening more Cheddar's restaurants--the chain is concentrated in the area between Texas, Florida and Indiana. (annie.gasparro@wsj.com)

Buffalo Wild Wings Picks Adviser to Help Sell Locations -- Market Talk

15:58 ET - Under pressure from activist Marcato Capital, Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) hires Cypress Group to help sell 10% of its company-owned locations. Cypress was Marcato's recommended pick as restaurant investment-banking adviser, but the investor--which has a 5.6% BWLD stake--isn't easing off, saying it remains concerned the company will continue to resist the refranchising. As of Dec. 25, BWLD had 631 company-owned locations. Shares are up 0.8% to $146.40 in late afternoon trading. (maria.armental@wsj.com; @mjarmental)

 
   FUTURES MARKETS 
 

Livestock Prices Fall as Supply Increases

CHICAGO -- Livestock futures fell on Tuesday as concerns about oversupply continued to weigh on the market.

Lean hog futures reversed gains earlier in the session, with the April contract falling 0.8% to $65.100 a pound at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since Dec. 6. Prices have fallen sharply since mid-March as traders bet that large numbers of hogs will keep pork cheap, propelling a downward slide.

 
   CASH MARKETS 
 
Zumbrota, Minn Hog $1.00 Lower At $40.00 - Mar 28 
 

Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market today are $1.00 lower at $40.00 per hundredweight. Sow prices are $2.00 higher. Sows weighing under 450 pounds are $31.00-$33.00, 400-450 pounds are at $31.00-$33.00, 450-500 pounds are $31.00-$33.00 and those over 500 pounds are $35.00-$37.00.

The day's total run is estimated at 100 head.

Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association.

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Mar 28 
 
This report reflects U.S. pork packer processing margins. The margin indices 
are calculated using current cash hog or carcass values and wholesale pork 
cutout values and may not reflect actual margins at the plants. These 
estimates reflect the general health of the industry and are not meant to 
be indicative of any particular company or plant. 
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Mar 28       +$24.42             +$ 32.88 
Mar 27       +$26.14             +$ 35.83 
Mar 24       +$23.82             +$ 34.90 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of 
production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                 Beef 
          For Today             Choice   97.9 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   99.1 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Tuesday fell 34 cents per hundred pounds, to $219.57, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell 60 cents per hundred pounds, to $213.02. The total load count was 121. Wholesale pork prices fell $1.37, to $77.03 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 28, 2017 17:05 ET (21:05 GMT)