Milling & Baking News - May 20, 2008 - 39

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour

Wheat futures prices dropped below
target levels set by some bakers for taking deferred coverage resulting in scattered bookings as far forward as October-December and even January-March.
For other bakers, though, declining prices encouraged a patient stance. Some reviewed targets and lowered them in the
hope the downtrend would continue as
the winter wheat harvest got under way
in Texas and Louisiana.
Nearly all bakers earlier covered most
if not all of their flour needs through
June, leaving only narrow gaps to be
filled for the nearby positions. July-September coverage was estimated at 25% to
30% for both soft flour and flour milled
from the hard wheat classes.
Cookie-cracker and specialty bakers
pointed to forecasts for the largest soft
red winter wheat crop since 1982. They
reasoned both futures and basis levels
for soft wheat should continue to weaken providing better pricing opportunities in the weeks ahead.
Millers cautioned spring grade users to
be on guard against a possible upturn in
cash spring wheat premiums during the
weeks before the spring wheat harvest.
With the decline in wheat futures
prices, individual bread bakers hedged
against prospective flour bookings for
the third and fourth quarters of 2008 and
even for January-March 2009.
Millfeed prices were historically attractive. But bakers seemed cautious about
locking in the millfeed component of

Bakery flour

flour purchases indicating they thought
the corn market had upside potential that
could pull millfeed prices higher still.
Southwest mills operated five days last
week. Upper Midwest units ran 5½ and
Central states mills also ran 5½. Northeast
units came in at 4½ to five days, while
Southeast mills operated five. California
mills ran 5½ days to six, while Pacific
Northwest units ran five. MBN

Family Flour

Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour were seasonally sluggish.
Carlot list prices were unchanged.
In the market for private label flour,
several major grocery chains earlier contracted for supply through the end of the
year. There was a lot of business to be
completed for the summer and fall with
other buyers, however, and the recent
downtrend in wheat prices from record
high levels encouraged a patient stance
among these users.
Manufacturers worked on production schedules for the summer, when
prepackaging for the key home baking
season will be under way. MBN

Semolina

Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were light last week. Prices
scored minor advances.
Most major pasta manufacturers earlier covered most if not all of their required
needs through September. Ownership beyond September was minimal in anticipation that supplies will flow into market-

ing channels around October from larger
crops in the U.S. and Canada.
Meanwhile, stocks of old crop durum
were wearing thin, and some pricing for
July-September was completed based on
the assumption of a normal date to the
desert durum harvest. There were concerns that the desert harvest could begin
about a week later than normal.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
indicated the North Dakota durum crop
was 52% planted by May 11, compared
with 39% a week earlier and with 66% as
the recent five-year average for the date.
Durum emergence in the state was at
13% compared with 17% as the average
for the date. Montana durum was 68%
planted compared with 43% a week earlier and with 52% as the average for the
date. Durum emergence in Montana was
at 17% versus 14% as the average.
The Arizona crop was nearly 100%
headed. The U.S.D.A. on May 9 projected the Arizona durum crop at 13,775,000
bus, up 74% from 7,900,000 bus in 2007.
It would be state's largest crop since the
record 15,120,000-bu outturn in 1998.
California durum production was projected at 15,500,000 bus, up 118% from
7,125,000 bus a year ago. It would be the
state's largest crop since the record harvest of 15,750,000 bus in 1998. MBN

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

No. 1 hard amber durum

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

Track, Minneapolis
- Change from - Year
- Change from - Year $ per bu
May 16 May 9 May 2 ago
May 16 May 9
May 2 ago Choice milling 13% 17.00
-
-
6.50
Kansas City
cents per bu
Bakers short patent
23.75
-0.40
-0.25 13.85 Amber discount
10.00
-
-
10.00
Bakers standard patent 23.65
-0.40
-0.25 13.75 Durum discount
10@40
-
- 10@40
Second clear
13.00
-
-
7.00 Puffing premium
0
-
-
0
Third clear
5.80
-
-
5.80
Semolina
Minneapolis
Spring short patent
27.15
0.20
1.10 13.35 Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from - Year
Spring standard patent 27.05
0.20
1.10 13.25
May 16
May 9
May 2
ago
High gluten
31.05
0.20
1.10 16.25
41.75
+.15
+.25
17.00
Whole wheat
27.05
0.20
1.10 13.25 Semolina
41.55
+.15
+.25
16.80
Specialty whole wheat 27.40
0.20
1.10 13.60 Granulars
41.45
+.15
+.25
16.70
Fancy spring clear
26.90
0.20
1.10 13.10 Flour
34.10
-
-
13.45
First spring clear
26.80
0.20
1.10 13.00 First clear
-
-
8.55
Rye, white
43.30
0.25
0.35 11.80 Second clear 12.10
Semolina - N.Y. 44.15
+.15
+.25
19.50
Chicago
Cracker
18.60
-0.50
-0.20 12.65
Nationally advertised family flour
Fancy cake
20.10
-0.50
-0.20 14.15
Dollars
New York
May 16
Year ago
Winter/spring blend
26.15
-0.40
-0.25 16.25
Family patent, 2-25s papers 22.50
15.36
Spring standard patent 29.65
0.30
1.30 15.40
4-10s
18.24
13.00
High gluten
33.65
0.30
1.30 18.40
8-5s
18.40
13.36
Fancy cake
22.10
-0.50
-0.20 16.15
18-2s
21.76
15.66
Rye, white
45.80
1.70
0.35 14.30
Self-rising
+88c per bale +88c per bale
Los Angeles
Bakers standard patent 24.85
-1.05
0.15 15.15
Pastry
27.80
-0.65
-2.30 16.90
40 / May 20, 2008

Milling & Baking News

Spring standard, Minneapolis
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt

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

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - May 20, 2008

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