TOP STORIES

Chinese Buying Returns to Pork Exports -- Market Talk

09:31 ET - China purchased 15,700 metric tons of US pork exports for the week ending March 12, making up nearly half of the 35,700 tons reported sold this week. It's a major improvement from the 45,200 ton cancellation reported for China last week. Other major buyers include Mexico, Japan, and South Korea. Meanwhile, beef export sales totaled 21,200 tons, up 20% from the previous week. South Korea was the main buyer of US beef for the week, purchasing 7,300 tons. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

Olive Garden's Owner Reports Sales Plunge as Coronavirus Spreads

The coronavirus pandemic is slamming the U.S. casual-dining sector, as companies including Darden Restaurants Inc., the owner of Olive Garden and other chains, race to switch to takeout service.

Darden, the largest casual dining chain in the U.S. with eight brands and 1,800 restaurants, said Thursday that same-store sales across its restaurants plunged 20.6% for the week ending March 15, as more coronavirus cases appeared domestically. Sales in the Orlando, Fla.-based company's fine-dining business fell further.

STORIES OF INTEREST

New Orleans Restaurant Kicks Off Coronavirus Insurance Litigation -- Update

The first wave of anticipated insurance-coverage litigation has begun as novel coronavirus-related shutdowns spread across the U.S.

A prominent seafood restaurant in New Orleans' French Quarter, Oceana Grill, has asked a state court to confirm that its policy with Lloyd's of London would cover lost revenue due to civil-authority actions with coronavirus restrictions.

The 500-seat restaurant is operating under two recently announced civil authority orders that limit its dine-in operations, one issued by the state's governor and the other by its mayor.

U.K. Restaurant Sector's Losses are Food Retailers' Gains -- Market Talk

1403 GMT - U.K. food retailers are benefiting from the coronavirus pandemic and the governmental response to it, Shore Capital says. The British investment group notes that grocers will capitalize on the "20-25% of the nation's calorific intake switching from food and beverage to retail." This is largely the result of a recent change to public policy, with the move toward suppressing public contact profoundly affecting the U.K.'s food sector, the investment group points out. "Large supermarkets are set to gain considerable share from a worried nation," Shore says. (matteo.castia@dowjones.com)

FUTURES MARKETS

Cattle Futures Close Limit-Up -- Market Talk

15:38 ET - Cattle futures on the CME finished trading limit-up, closing 3 cents per pound higher, or 3.5% higher, at 88.925 cents per pound. Hog futures also closed higher, up 2.8% at 69.15 cents per pound. For cattle, the markets traded higher ahead of the Cattle on Feed report released tomorrow, which is expected to show February cattle placements 8% lower than the same time last year, according to INTL FCStone. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Mar 19 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Mar 19       +$ 40.70            +$ 34.17 
Mar 18       +$ 31.24            +$ 26.11 
Mar 17       +$ 33.24            +$ 25.72 
 
* 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  109.3 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  110.3 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 
 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Thursday rose $2.63 per hundred pounds, to $249.87, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $2.56 per hundred pounds, to $241.06. The total load count was 234. Wholesale pork prices rose $3.75, to $77.63 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2020 18:05 ET (22:05 GMT)