Food Business News - December 18, 2012 - 44

Ingredient Markets
Market commentary for one-week period ended December 14, 2012

Sweeteners
Sugar prices continued to slide last week amid ample supplies with Midwest beet values dipping to 4½-year lows. Corn sweetener contracting advanced at a good pace ahead of the year’s end. Midwest beet sugar was quoted at 32c a lb f.o.b., down 1c from a week earlier, with reports of material available slightly lower. Some nearby sales were noted, as well as sales for the first quarter and all of 2013. But trading was light as most users already were well covered for the year, and others were waiting until they needed sugar in the hope prices continue to decline. Traders expected beet sugar prices to remain under pressure until processors sold their excess supply from the large 2012 beet crop. Cane sugar activity continued to be slowed by low beet sugar prices and availability of lower-priced Mexican cane sugar, which was said to be offered delivered at the border at around 34c a lb. Domestic cane sugar continued to be offered by one refiner at a “fire sale” price of 31c a lb for December only due to strongerthan-expected sugar output. Buyer interest in 2014 remained nil with ideas sugar prices will remain weak. Contracting of 2013 corn sweetener products advanced at prices seen the past couple of weeks, mostly 2.50c to 3c above 2012 levels. Dextrose continued to be offered by some brokers at even levels with sugar. It was expected contracting will be

nearly completed by yearend. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its Dec. 11 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates projected the U.S. sugar carryover on Oct. 1, 2013, at 2,050,000 short tons, raw value, down 166,000 tons from November but up 67,000 tons from 1,983,000 tons estimated for 2012. The ending stocks-to-use ratio for 2012-13 was projected at 17.4%, down from 18.7% projected in November and slightly above 17.2% estimated for 2011-12. The ratios for both years still were above the top end of the U.S.D.A.’s “target” range. For 2011-12, which ended Sept. 30, the U.S.D.A. raised estimated beet sugar production 5,000 tons and raised estimated deliveries for food 29,000 tons, resulting in a 24,000-ton drop in ending stocks. For 2012-13, beet sugar production was forecast up 95,000 tons from November. U.S. sugar imports in 2012-13 were projected at 2,912,000 tons, down 337,000 tons from November and down 719,000 tons from 201112. Projected tariff-rate quota imports were unchanged from November, other program imports were cut 50% to 225,000 tons and imports from Mexico were projected at 1,388,000 tons, down 112,000 tons from November. Projected use was unchanged from November except for exports, which were trimmed by 100,000 tons. FBN

Edible Oils
Bookings of fats and edible oils were

limited last week. Prices of most ingredients were unchanged to lower. Meat fats were the exceptions with lard offers light and demand for tallow increasing from the biodiesel sector. Soybean oil prices dropped. Soybean oil futures prices declined on a heavy soybean crush, high yields of oil per bushel crushed and increasing soybean oil stocks. Also exerting weight was an ailing palm oil market where stocks were burdensome. The cash basis on soybean oil remained defensive. Bakers and most other soybean oil users earlier covered all of their oil needs through January with some having covered most of their needs for the first quarter of 2013. The relatively extensive coverage muted buyers’ response to the drop in futures prices. Basis coverage for AprilJune remained at about 50%. The National Oilseeds Processors Association estimated the November soybean crush at 157,308,000 bus, up from 153,536,000 bus in October and compared with 141,277,000 bus in November 2011. NOPA estimated soybean oil stocks at the end of November at 2,384,756,000 lbs, up from 2,187,678,000 lbs in October and compared with 1,855,291,000 lbs in November 2011. The U.S.D.A. on Dec. 11 forecast the carryover of soybean oil in the United States on Oct. 1, 2013, at 1,480 million lbs, down 40 million lbs from the November projection and down 1,060 million lbs, or 42%, from 2,540 million lbs in 2012. FBN

Beet and cane sugar
f.o.b. plant, cents per lb

Sweeteners
Delivered basis, cents per lb HFCS spot price1

HFCS list price2 Regular — Change from — Year corn Dec. 14 Dec. 7 Nov. 30 ago syrup3 Dextrose 42% HFCS wet 55% HFCS wet Dec. 14 Year ago Midwest beet 32.00 @ 34.00 -1.00 -2.00 55.00 23.375 27.875 net 173/8@ 213/8 153/8@ 193/8 33.85@37.85 26.625 East Paciﬁc beet 34.00 @ 37.00 -1.00 -1.00 55.00 Midwest 24.925 29.425 net 32.85@36.85 28.175 Midwest Cane* 34.00 @ 38.00 -1.00 -1.00 55.00 Northeast 18¾@ 22¾ 16¾@ 20¾ 7 7 7 7 25.125 29.625 net Southeast 18 /8@ 22 /8 16 /8@ 20 /8 *Spot raw plus 7% plus 11.8c with 2% cash discount. 35.85@39.85 28.375 West 24.625 29.125 net Southwest 18½@ 22½ 16½@ 20½ 27.875 Raw cane 25.325 29.825 net West 193/8@ 233/8 173/8@ 213/8 28.575 Delivered reﬁner, cents per lb 1-Variations in prices often tied to tank car versus truck deliveries. 2-Prices are the lowest available to the publication. 3-Regular 42 DE/43 Baume, f.o.b. tank cars, trucks Contract Nearby January-March April-June July-September October-December January-March — Change from — Dec. 14 Dec. 7 Nov. 30 22.15 -.10 -.30 22.15 -.30 -.40 22.90 +.15 +.30 22.95 — +.15 23.75 +.15 +.85 23.40 -.30 -.25 Year ago 35.95 35.95 36.50 37.10 36.50 34.30

Chicago soybean oil futures
Bulk in tank cars, cents per lb Dec. 14 — Change from — Delivery close Dec. 7 Nov. 30 December 49.63 -1.19 +.22 January 49.99 -1.14 +.25 March 50.42 -1.20 +.19 May 50.89 -1.19 +.24 July 51.30 -1.16 +.29 August 51.33 -1.06 +.37 Year ago ... 49.55 49.93 50.31 50.62 50.68

Edible oils
Bulk, cents per lb — Change from — Year Dec. 14 Dec. 7 Nov. 30 ago Soybean oil, Decatur Loose lard, Chicago Edible tallow, Chicago Cottonseed oil, Miss. PBSY Palm oil, ports Palm kernel oil, ports Coconut oil Peanut oil, Southeast Corn oil, Decatur Sunﬂowerseed oil, Midwest Canola oil, Midwest 47.25 53.25 40.50 50.25 39.50 43.00 38.50 99.00 52.00 69.00 56.75 -1.25 +1.25 +3.25 -1.00 -.50 — -1.50 — -1.00 — -2.50 — -.75 49.50 49.50

Spot soybean oil
Decatur, Ill., bulk cents per lb
60.00 54.00 48.00 42.00 D M J
Previous Year

+2.75 51.00 +.25 -1.75 -1.50 -1.50 -1.00 -1.50 — -3.75 49.75 50.00 53.50 63.00 95.00 54.25 91.00 54.50

Crude soybean oil
Bulk in tank cars, cents per lb Delivery Decatur, Ill. December 46.13 @47.13 January 46.49 @47.49 February 46.71 @47.71 March 46.92 @47.92 April 47.66 @48.66 May 47.89 @48.89 June 48.10 @49.10 Western points 45.63 @46.13 45.99 @46.49 46.21 @46.71 46.42 @46.92 47.16 @47.66 47.39 @47.89 47.60 @48.10

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Food Business News - December 18, 2012

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