Milling & Baking News - May 9, 2006 - 43

I N G R E D I E N T

Sweeteners

W E E K

Sugar business was fairly light last
week following moderate to sharp price
declines at the end of the preceding week.
At that time, Midwest sugar declined
1½c a lb, East and West coast lost 3c, and
the Gulf was down 2@3c a lb. Last week,
levels were steady to firm. In fact, spot
raw cane jumped 45 points, and deferred
ended 5@45 points higher. Corn sweeteners again were unchanged.
The previous week's price decline
appeared to have caught many in the
trade by surprise. Despite the price reduction to 35c a lb f.o.b. Midwest, a significant part of the sugar industry took
no immediate action. In fact, some primary sellers indicated they continued
to ask as high as 44c a lb f.o.b. Midwest
for any sugar for the balance of this
year, acknowledging they were already
largely sold out. Other Midwest sellers
held asking quotes unchanged at 40½c a
lb, noting they would meet competition
only on a case-by-case basis. Still others
were merely "studying the situation."
A similar scenario prevailed in other
markets. Both the East and West coast
were at 37c a lb f.o.b. and the South at
36c. A number of individual sellers left
numbers unchanged or merely took no
immediate action.
Major sellers emphasized they had
sugar to sell not only for next year but
also for the balance of the current year,

Beet and cane sugar

or through September. Some in the trade
also underscored the fact some users had
significant balances yet to cover. While
the lower pricing apparently generated
some business up to September throughout the nation, individual sellers voiced
"disappointment" business had not
been more active. Others described the
market as "traumatized," noting participants needed time to adjust. Some buyers again were claiming bookings at yet
lower levels, generating skepticism on
the part of sellers.
Sugar producers described new crop
business as moderate, even as some said
volume had diminished in recent weeks.
Midwest sales for 2006-07 were around
32½@33c a lb f.o.b. Some sales might
have taken place at lower levels because
of transportation issues. West coast new
crop was offered at 35c f.o.b.
Corn sweeteners again were inactive.
Shipments were seasonal. MBN

Bakery Shortening

Bookings of bakery shortening again
were light last week. Price changes
were mixed.
Soybean oil prices dipped. The cash
basis on soybean oil was unchanged,
but soybean oil futures prices declined
about ¼c a lb. Futures prices remained
well above what the trade perceived
to be value. Merchants didn't expect
an expansion in bookings until futures

prices pulled back another 1½@2c a lb.
What material was contracted last week
was to meet urgent nearby needs. Many
buyers were on a price-date-of-shipment basis.
While buyers refrained for booking
soybean oil further out than a month
or so, they remained active locking in
deferred basis levels. It was estimated
basis-only coverage was at 80% for the
third quarter of 2006 and at 40% for the
fourth quarter. Some buyers sought basis coverage into 2007.
The Brazilian soybean harvest was
nearing completion with crop estimates
averaging from 56 million to 57 million
tonnes, lower than previous forecasts but
still record large. The Argentine harvest
was 65% completed with production estimated at a record 41 million tonnes.
Frito-Lay North America, Plano, Texas, announced last week it was switching to NuSun sunflowerseed oil for use
in producing its Lay's and Ruffles potato
chips in order to reduce the amount of
saturated fat. The switch to NuSun will
reduce the company's purchases of cottonseed oil. The cash basis on sunflowerseed oil spiked in the wake of the announcement to an 11c premium to soybean oil futures prices. It was suggested
Frito-Lay purchases of sunflowerseed oil
could approach a quarter of the supply.
Canola supply remained tight. Palm oil
imports continued to show growth. MBN

Sweeteners
Delivered basis, cents per lb
42% H.F.C.S. spot price1

f.o.b. plant, cents per lb

H.F.C.S. list price2
Regular
- Change from - Year
corn
May 5
Apr. 28 Apr. 21 ago
syrup3
Dextrose
42% H.F.C.S. wet 55% H.F.C.S. wet
May 5
Year ago
Midwest beet 35.00 @ 36.00
-
-1.50 24.50
14.00
13.00
16.00 net
93/8@ 97/8
11½@ 12
East
24.10@26.10
Pacific beet
37.00 @ 38.00
-
-3.00 25.00 Midwest
7
3
15.55
14.55
17.55 net
Midwest
23.10@25.10
Cane*
37.15 @ 37.20
-
-2.80 26.70 Northeast 12 /8@ 13 /8 10¾@ 11¼
15.75
14.75
17.75 net
Southeast
13@ 13½ 107/8@ 113/8
West
26.10@28.10
*Spot raw plus 7% plus 11c with 2% cash discount.
15.25
14.25
17.25 net
Southwest 125/8@ 131/8 10½@ 11
Raw cane
15.95
14.95
17.95 net
West
13½@ 14 11¾@ 12¼
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
May-June
July-September
October-December
January-March
April-June

May 5
23.75
23.75
23.70
22.70
22.60
22.65

- Change from -
Apr. 28 Apr. 21
+.45
+.25
+.45
+.25
+.40
+.15
+.15
+.10
+.05
-
+.10
+.05

Spot soybean oil
Decatur, Ill., bulk, cents per lb

Year
ago
21.70
21.70
21.70
21.15
21.00
21.10

Chicago soybean oil futures
Bulk in tank cars, cents per lb
May 5
- Change from -
Delivery
close
Apr. 28
Apr. 21
May
25.15
-.39
+.54
July
25.53
-.19
+.47
August
25.72
-.10
+.52
September 25.87
-.18
+.44
October
26.06
-.24
+.44
December 26.48
-.09
+.57

Edible oils
Bulk, cents per lb
Year
ago
23.24
23.31
23.35
23.35
23.30
23.32

Crude soybean oil
Bulk in tank cars, cents per lb
Delivery
Decatur, Ill.
May
23.15 @23.40
June
23.34 @23.59
July
23.53 @23.78
August
23.72 @23.97
September
23.87 @24.12
October
24.06 @24.31
November
24.27 @24.52

44 / Milling & Baking News, May 9, 2006

Western points
22.65 @22.90
22.84 @23.09
23.03 @23.28
23.22 @23.47
23.37 @23.62
23.56 @23.81
23.77 @24.02

May 5
Soybean oil,
Decatur
Loose lard, Chicago
Edible tallow,
Chicago
Cottonseed oil,
Miss. PBSY
Palm oil, ports
Palm kernel oil,
ports
Coconut oil,
West coast
Peanut oil, Southeast
Corn oil, Decatur
Sunflowerseed oil,
Midwest
Canola oil, Midwest

- Change from - Year
Apr. 28 Apr. 21 ago

23.75
18.00

-.25
-

+1.00 24.00
-
22.75

16.50

+1.00

+1.00 22.75

28.75
22.50

-.25
+.25

+1.75 30.25
+.25 21.50

34.00

+.25

33.75

28.75
42.75
24.50

-
+.25
+.25

-
-.75
+.50

32.00
56.00
30.50

36.50
32.00

+2.50
-

+3.75 47.00
+1.75 33.00

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Milling & Baking News - May 9, 2006

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