Milling & Baking News - July 22, 2014 - 40

Ingredient Week 

Bakery Flour

Family Flour

Bookings of bakery flour were limited
last week. Prices were lowered except in
the case of soft flour, which saw a minor
upward adjustment.
Most of the activity in flour markets
involved filling gaps in July-September
coverage and continued coverage of
the futures component of prospective
flour bookings for the fourth quarter
and even well into 2015. In isolated instances, bakers with menu pricing to
protect took futures coverage related to
a portion of their expected flour needs
through all of 2015. Strong cash wheat
basis levels discouraged an aggressive
stance with regard to taking basis coverage, and weak millfeed credits were
a frustration to bakers and other flour
buyers.
Cookie-cracker and specialty bakers
in the past couple of weeks raised their
third-quarter flour coverage to 75% to
80% with some soft flour users owning 85% of their July-September flour
requirements. Pan bread bakers' flour
coverage for July-September was about
75%, and spring grade users' coverage
was about 85% to 90%.
Coverage in all grades was 25% or
even less for October-December.
The high average protein of the hard
winter wheat harvested to date will
pose blending challenges not encountered to a significant degree in the past
few years.
Mill grind ranged from 4½ to six-plus
days with the average near six. MBN

Bakery ﬂour

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were light last week. Prices were raised sharply in response to a
spike in cash durum pricing.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum as quoted at the Chicago gateway
was $13.25 a bu, up 50c from the previous week. Several recent trades were indicated at $13 and $13.25. Minneapolis
durum price was a nominal $12.95 a bu.
Durum millers and pasta manufacturers were frustrated with rail logistical

problems, including congestion across
the Chicago gateway, which has helped
sustain high durum prices for months
even in the face of declining prices in
the other wheat classes. Increasingly
there was concern that there may be
no significant break in prices until the
durum harvest, if then, given railroads
will be handling a large spring wheat
crop and huge fall crops at a time when
the market will be pressing for durum.
Durum millers indicated about 70% to
75% of prospective semolina needs for
the third quarter were covered, reflecting only a minor increase in ownership
from the previous week. Coverage beyond September was lean.
Durum mill grind last week averaged
about five days.
The small durum crop in Arizona
was 95% harvested by July 13 compared with 71% as the recent five-year
average for the date. The North Dakota crop was 24% headed by July 13
compared with 47% as the average for
the date. The state's crop was rated
82% good to excellent, 17% fair and
1% poor. The Montana crop was 13%
headed compared with 35% as the average. The Montana durum crop was
rated 70% good to excellent, 26% fair
and 4% poor to very poor. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$24.00
$22.00
$20.00

No. 1 hard amber durum

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
- Change from - Year
July 18 July 11
July 3 ago
Kansas City
Bakers short patent
Bakers standard patent
Second clear
Third clear
Minneapolis
Spring short patent
Spring standard patent
High gluten
Whole wheat
Specialty whole wheat
Fancy spring clear
First spring clear
Rye, white
Chicago
Cracker
Fancy cake
New York
Winter/spring blend
Spring standard patent
High gluten
Fancy cake
Rye, white
Los Angeles
Bakers standard patent
Pastry

Orders for national and regional
brands of family flour remained seasonally sluggish, but several grocers and
other buyers of private label flour booked
their requirements for the baking season.
Carlot list prices were unchanged.
While orders and shipments weren't
expected to increase until the start of the
2014-15 school year and the approach of
the fall baking season, activity among
manufacturers and buyers began to intensify. Many private label buyers in the past
couple of weeks covered their prospective
flour needs through December. There were
some lagging buyers, but they seemed
poised to extend their contract balances
through the fall as well. Many buyers had
been waiting for the Kansas harvest to
draw to a close in the hope they'd benefit
from harvest pressure on wheat prices.
Some manufacturers already have
begun pre-packing and warehousing inventory for the baking season. MBN

Track, Chicago
$ per bu
July 18
Choice milling 13% 13.25

- Change from - Year
July 11 July 3 ago
+.50
+.25 9.70

-0.35
-0.35
-
...

-1.90
-1.90
-
...

19.00
18.90
14.00
...

Track, Minneapolis
$ per bu

19.55
19.45
22.45
19.45
19.80
19.30
19.20
24.00

-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
-0.10

-1.95
-1.95
-1.95
-1.95
-1.95
-1.95
-1.95
-

17.70
17.60
20.60
17.60
17.95
17.45
17.35
22.50

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
July 18
July 11 July 3
Semolina
32.60
+1.20
+.60
Granulars
32.40
+1.20
+.60
Flour
32.30
+1.20
+.60
First clear
19.10
-
-
Second clear 13.50
-
-
Semolina - N.Y. 35.40
+1.20
+.60

14.60
16.10

0.05
0.05

-0.90
-0.90

15.60
17.10

21.05
22.05
25.05
18.10
26.50

-0.35
-0.60
-0.60
0.05
-0.10

-1.90
-2.00
-2.00
-0.90
-

21.40
20.80
23.80
19.10
25.00

23.95
24.00

-0.35
-0.35

-1.90
-1.90

24.90
23.95

40 / July 22, 2014 Milling & Baking News

$16.00
J

J
Previous Year

18.65
18.55
14.00
...

Choice milling 13% 12.95

$18.00

A
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
+.50

+.25

10.50

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$24.00

Semolina

$22.00

Year
ago
23.10
22.90
22.80
17.50
13.00
25.80

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

$20.00
$18.00
$16.00
J

J
Previous Year

A
Current Year

Cracker ﬂour, Chicago
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$21.00

Dollars
July 18
Family patent, 2-25s papers 24.12
4-10s
n.a.
8-5s
18.52
18-2s
20.64
Self-rising
n.a.

Year ago
24.12
n.a.
18.52
20.64
n.a.

$19.00
$17.00
$15.00
$13.00
J

J
Previous Year

A
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - July 22, 2014

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