Milling & Baking News - September 21, 2004 - 1

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bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

SEPTEMBER 21, 2004

N E W S F E AT U R E
Views differ on direction of wheat
futures prices, cash markets to roar

pring wheat harvest delays across the
U.S. northern Plains and the Canadian
Prairie provinces, an ebbing in the flow
of U.S. wheat exports after a strong start to
the current marketing year and the prospect
of a record-large corn harvest this fall recently have vied for influence over the direction
of wheat prices. How analysts have weighed
these various market features has differed
to a considerable degree. And this has produced distinct outlooks for wheat futures

LATE

price moves during the next several weeks.
A re-test of contract lows (set in midAugust) in Chicago and Kansas City was
thought likely by Paul Meyers, vice-president, commodity analysis, Connell Co., Berkley Heights, N.J. Mr. Meyers based his projection on expected pressure from the harvest of
a record 11-billion-bu corn crop and still large
soybean crop as well as on an expected slowing in the pace of U.S. wheat export business
as exportable supplies increase in competing

NEWS

C.P.I. up
1.3% from
August '03

WASHINGTON - The Consumer Price Index for baked
foods and cereal products in August increased 1.3% from
the same year-ago month, but was flat in comparison with
July 2004, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor. The August index for Cereals and
Continued on Page 8

Prudential Back-to-School meeting
highlights innovation, performance
BOSTON - DiGiorno pizza, Special K
breakfast cereal and Uncrustables sandwiches were among products highlighted
in presentations at the Prudential Equity
Group, Inc.'s 13th Annual Back-to-School
Consumer Conference held Sept. 8-9 at the
Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel.
At the annual gathering, which brings
together many of the nation's largest consumer products companies in a two-day
forum, several grain-based foods companies reviewed plans for product innova-

tion heading into the fall baking season.

Kraft in new microwave introduction
The microwave is back at Northfield,
Ill.-based Kraft Foods, Inc.
At the conference, Roger K. Deromedi,
Kraft chief executive officer, described a
new Kraft frozen pizza made for cooking
in microwave ovens.
Together with DiGiorno Thin Crispy
Crust, the new product drew enthusiastic
Continued on Page 11
inside

nations. Mr. Meyers suggested that wheat
futures prices, especially those in Chicago
and Kansas City, would trade lower during
the corn harvest and then sideways through
much of the winter.
Steve Freed, vice-president, ADM Investors Services, Inc., Chicago, said he thought
a re-test of lows in Chicago and Kansas City
Continued on Page 21

Hurricane Ivan brings
industry to standstill
along U.S. Gulf coast
NEW ORLEANS - A short response from
a receptionist at Sara Lee Bakery Group's
plant in Mobile, Ala., summed up the state
of the grain-based foods industry last week
along the central U.S. Gulf coast.
"The operations manager isn't here,"
the receptionist said, replying to an inquiry about the plant's preparations for
Hurricane Ivan, including plans to board
up the facility. "He's over at Lowe's (Home
Improvement Warehouse)."
As Ivan bore down on a broad section
of the region, its grain-based foods businesses - from grain export elevators to
processing plants and bakeries - spent
the first half of the week preparing for the
storm.
They spent the last half of the week
enduring it.
Ivan's fury began affecting a large
swath of the coast, from New Orleans to
Continued on Page 9

THIS WEEK

Ingredient

Poore
Brothers to
use Cinnabon
brand name

Biscuits unit
finishes '04
strong at
Campbell

Fleming
settles fraud
charges with
S.E.C.

Week

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Milling & Baking News - September 21, 2004

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