Halal Market Report — Oct 12–18, 2026

Halal Market Report

Week of

Oct 12–18, 2026

What moved this week

• Romaine doubled in seven days. Salinas 24s went from mostly $24.55–27.75 to mostly $55.75–58.45, and hearts to mostly $60.45–63.75. Salinas and Santa Maria are running out of season with disease and insect pressure in the fields, and the Yuma desert transition has not started to cap it. Santa Maria at mostly $26.55–30.85 is the only sane buy right now, roughly half the price. If your menu leans on romaine, you need a substitution plan this week, not a price warning.
• The beef relief is over. Stop waiting. Brisket primal held at $293.75 and inside round 3-trim at $378.49 — both flat after last week's drop — while October live cattle ran from $218.85 to $224.97, up 2.8% on the week, and feeders added $9.22. That is a packer margin compressing against a rising floor, not a downtrend. Last week this column said cover what you can; this week the window is closed. Lock Q4 brisket and round at today's number.
• Cheese bottomed and bounced. Blocks hit $1.27 in late September, the lowest since May 2020, then closed Friday at $1.3850 with the weekly average up 5.4¢. Mozzarella and natural shreds are still historically cheap with October Class III at $14.97, so the call stays good value — but the instruction flips from wait to buy. Barrels are running 6.75¢ over blocks, so process and American-style items still get none of it.
• Lamb broke out: ground through $900, leg through $1,000. Ground lamb jumped $15.18 on the week to $909.31, with $12.73 of that in a single day, and leg BRT cleared $1,009.18 — four figures for the first time. The gains landed in exactly the grind-and-leg cuts halal kitchens buy; shoulders barely moved. Australian frozen boneless leg at $580.62 is about 42% under domestic BRT and is the only real lever on the lamb side.
• Butter kept falling and feta's increase went live. Butter closed at $1.2750 with the weekly average down 5.8¢, a third straight weekly decline to a multi-year low — cream is now the cheapest input on the board, so lock cultured dairy. Going the other way: Greek producers' 5–9% feta increases took effect Oct 1, moving loose feta to about $6.86–7.12 a pound against $6.10–6.60 a week ago, on the same exchange rate.

Rising / High Watch Steady Easing / Value

Produce

14 items

Avocados (Hass)

40s $24–30, 48s $22–28; heavy Mexican volume

EASING

Bell peppers, green

SJV XL $21–25, GA jumbo $26–30; retail +10%

RISING

Cilantro

Central Coast 60s $21–24; Mexico flat $16–18

EASING

Cucumbers

FOB eased to $20–24, but retail +22% YoY

WATCH

Eggplant

GA medium mostly $14.35; improved again

GOOD VALUE

Garlic, peeled (fresh)

Spain 5-lb jar $14–15; California crop ample

STEADY

Ginger

Brazil 30-lb $26–30 in NY; China $28–32

STEADY

Jalapeños

Mexico $34–38; South Georgia $24–26 is relief

HIGH

Limes

110s $26–28; large fruit still firm at $34–40

GOOD VALUE

Mangoes

flats 6–8s $11.50–13, 12s $6.50–9

STEADY

Onions, red + yellow

yellow jumbo $13–15; colossal carries a premium

GOOD VALUE

Romaine lettuce

Salinas 24s mostly $55.75–58.45 — doubled

RISING

Spinach

Central Coast 24s $14.45–17.90; market lower

GOOD VALUE

Tomatoes, round (fresh)

vine ripe steady; mature greens up 19%

WATCH

Meats · halal

12 items

Beef brisket

Choice primal $293.75; the slide stopped

STEADY

Beef, ground

90% trim $405.38; 85% blend fell about 5%

HIGH

Beef inside round 168

Choice 3-trim $378.49; the slide is over

STEADY

Beef outside rnd 171B

$391.53; third week pinned in the $390s

STEADY

Chicken breast, BL/SL

118.7¢, flat on the week; the bottom holds

GOOD VALUE

Chicken leg, BL/SL

no public B/S quote; bone-in legs 76.3¢, +1.3¢

RISING

Chicken thigh, BL/SL

167.9¢, +1.3¢ — the run stalled

HIGH

Chicken wings

110.6¢, +2.1¢; second week up into the season

WATCH

Gyro cone (beef & lamb)

lamb up, beef trim down; cone cost about flat

WATCH

Lamb, ground

$909.31/cwt, +$15 — broke $900

RISING

Lamb leg, BRT

$1,009/cwt; Australian frozen leg 42% under

HIGH

Whole chicken (WOG)

115.9¢, −0.5¢; quiet and narrow

STEADY

Seafood

5 items

Asian white shrimp P&D

US spot still soft; origin floor firming

GOOD VALUE

Branzino (sea bass)

Turkish supply down hard; Milan values up

RISING

Cod

Iceland record holds; 2027 quota still unset

HIGH

Salmon fillet (Atlantic, farmed)

Norway export (whole) $3.50/lb; easing stalled

STEADY

Tilapia

Golden Week pause; held after three up weeks

WATCH

Dairy

8 items

Cheddar Jack, fancy shred

blocks $1.385, +5.4¢ on the week; bottom in

GOOD VALUE

Eggs, large (shell)

loose 43¢/dz, −3¢; NY cartoned 82¢

GOOD VALUE

Feta

Greek increases live Oct 1; $6.86–7.12/lb loose

RISING

Monterey Jack, fancy shred

tracks blocks $1.385; still near six-year lows

GOOD VALUE

Mozzarella

Oct Class III $14.97; blocks off the $1.27 low

GOOD VALUE

Paneer

Class III $14.97 for Oct vs $16.04 in Sept

EASING

Plain yogurt (Greek)

NFDM $2.2675, +5.1¢; Class IV Oct $20.48

RISING

Sour cream

butter $1.275, −5.8¢ — a multi-year low

GOOD VALUE

Pantry & bread

4 items

Basmati rice

Indian rice at a one-year high; crop down

RISING

Chickpeas (canned)

garbanzo $15.25/cwt flat, −28% vs a year ago

GOOD VALUE

Cooking oil (soybean)

December board 68¢; WASDE holds 70¢

STEADY

Naan / pita

wheat 671¢, a six-week low, but a tiny crop

WATCH

Prepared Sun Oct 11, 2026 — market data through Fri Oct 9. Benchmarks: USDA Market News & CME (conventional wholesale); halal proteins run above quoted marks.