Milling & Baking News - November 2, 2004 - 43

I N G R E D I E N T

W E E K

of the 2004-05 marketing year, but other
participants complained that even spot
business moved at an extremely slow
pace. Some in the trade estimated that
approximately 60% of the potential bookings of sugar for the 2004-05 marketing
year already had taken place. This number has not changed much in the past several weeks, strongly suggesting that current bookings were proceeding at an extremely slow pace.
Contrasting reports surfaced on prospective sugar availability. Market experts
predicted some limited tightness in sugar,
primarily because of sugar cane losses
during the recent hurricanes. According
to these authorities, the U.S.D.A. has not
yet reflected these reductions in its estimates. In recent weeks, there also had been
reports of lower sugar content in Red River

Valley sugar beets. But this contrasted
with seemingly higher sugar reported for
beets being harvested both in Michigan
and in the inter-mountain territory.
The Commodity Credit Corp. again
was a sugar seller last week. The agency
announced it had disposed of 7,750 tons,
raw value, from Michigan. This represented a continuation of the C.C.C.'s efforts to dispose of 30,000 tons earlier forfeited under the loan program. The most
recent sale left the C.C.C. with 18,500
tons.
Midwest beet sugar continued to trade
in a range of 23½@24½c a lb f.o.b. Some in
the trade pointed to ongoing offers of
sugar at 26½c in the Northeast. There also
were reports of ongoing discounting in a
number of markets.
Corn sweetener developments were

Spot Raw Cane Sugar

Spot 42% HFCS

Bulk, delivered U.S. refineries, cents per lb

Delivered basis, cents per lb
Oct. 29
Midwest
93/8 @ 97/8
Northeast
103/4 @ 111/4
Southeast
111/8 @ 115/8
Southwest
103/4 @ 111/4
West
113/4 @ 121/4

Year ago
93/8 @ 103/8
103/4 @ 113/4
111/8 @ 121/8
103/4 @ 113/4
113/4 @ 123/4

Variations in prices often tied to tank car versus truck deliveries.

Beet and Cane Sugar
f.o.b. plant, cents per lb
Midwest beet
Pacific beet
Cane*

42% High Fructose Corn Syrup

Week's
change
-
-
+.20

Oct. 29
23.50 @ 24.50
24.50 @ 25.50
25.30 @ 25.35

Year
ago
24.00
25.50
26.30

*Spot raw plus 7% plus 3c with 2% cash discount.

Bulk, delivered Midwest plant, cents per lb

Raw Cane
Delivered refiner, cents per lb
Contract
Nearby
October-December
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December

Price
20.40
20.40
20.45
20.55
20.75
20.75

Week's
change
+.20
+.20
+.15
+.10
+.05
-

Year
ago
20.85
20.85
20.90
20.90
21.10
21.40

Eggs
f.o.b. plant, $ per lb

Milk Products
f.o.b. plant, $ per lb
Week's
Oct. 29
change
.223/4 @ .231/4 + 1/4c

Nonhygroscopic whey
Delactose whey,
(20% min. protein),
Regular edible
.30
Whey protein concentrate,
(34% protein), Regular edible .593/4
High-heat nonfat dry milk,
Chicago
.95
Buttermilk powder
.90

Oct. 29
Whole egg solids
1.52 @ 1.75
Egg yolk solids
1.35 @ 1.56
Egg white solids
3.05 @ 3.40
Blends (whole with sweetener) 1.45 @ 1.55

@ .35

Cocoa

@ .621/4

East Coast, $ per lb

@ 1.01
@ 1.01

-
-

Oct. 29
10-12% natural butterfat .70 @ .75
Red alkalized
1.05 @ 1.15

44 / Milling & Baking News, November 2, 2004

Week's
change
-.03
-.03
-.05
-

minimal. With corn trading close to $2 a
bu, the market anticipated no activity
until well into December. Some observers
said the strong crude oil market offset the
record corn crop. This should spur ethanol production in coming months. MBN

Milk
Milk product markets were mixed last
week, with most pricing unchanged.
Whey advanced ¼c a lb. Lactose slipped
1c at the lower end of the range. While
most markets finished unchanged, a
number of items displayed a soft tone.
Modest strength in whey primarily reflected a pickup in export demand. As a
consequence, supplies in the Midwest
tightened at certain locations. Still, there
were no problems delivering contracted
material. In fact, requests to provide additional material were answered without
delay. Domestic food demand was only
fair, and some users were set on holding
out for lower levels. West coast numbers
mainly were steady, Northeast and Southeast levels were steady to slightly higher.
Pressure on lactose reflected surplus
supplies at some points. Whey protein
concentrate encountered active export
demand, offset by somewhat slower domestic interest. High-heat nonfat dry
milk was under pressure. Supplies were
larger than anticipated, and some material traded at a discount. MBN

Eggs
Dried egg product pricing again manifested distinct weakness last week.
Whole egg solids and egg yolk solids
both declined 3c a lb, and egg white solids lost 5c. Blends finished unchanged.
Retail and breaking stock numbers exhibited some stability, and the trade predicted egg numbers might level off
shortly before recording a seasonal gain
in advance of Thanksgiving.
Most users appeared to have covered
requirements for the balance of the calendar year. A number of buyers sought coverage into the first quarter of 2005 at discounts to the spot price, and some limited
trading took place at the lower levels.
Some breakers urged buyers to delay
coverage into 2005 in anticipation of
more pressure.
The U.S.D.A. pointed to total number
of layers in September averaging 343 million, up 3% from a year ago. Some in the
trade noted that this was a record. MBN

Cocoa
Week's change
-
-

Turnover in cocoa powder last week
was fairly dull, with prices unchanged.
Markets were under pressure with
some material trading at discounts. Some
West African-Indonesian blends have
been trading at less than 65c a lb. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - November 2, 2004

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - November 2, 2004