Milling & Baking News - June 3, 2008 - 47

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour

Bookings of bakery flour expanded as
wheat futures prices gave way Thursday
and with end-of-month business Friday.
In the market for spring grades, millers
indicated both flat booking and futures
coverage against prospective flour bookings by specialty bread bakers and other
spring flour users as far forward as AprilJune 2009. Hedging in Minneapolis wheat
futures was indicated even into July-September. This activity was not widespread
and in most instances applied to only a
portion of the indicated buyers' prospective needs for the periods, but it affirmed
the idea many mid-sized baking companies and other flour users were loathe to
get caught in another runaway market
such as occurred this year.
Pan bread bakers also hedged in futures
against a portion of their prospective flour
bookings as far forward as May 2009.
Cookie-cracker and specialty bakers
weren't active, confident prices would
be pressured by an expanding harvest of
a large soft red winter wheat crop.
The cash wheat basis in Minneapolis buckled amid shallow demand from
millers and exporters for spot supply. The
September became the basic future for
spring wheat at a $2 discount to the July.
Cash wheat premiums in Kansas City
declined at most levels as well, with
pressure coming late in the week from
improved harvesting conditions.
Most mills did not run Memorial Day,
but several picked up time Saturday to
create heavier than expected grind last

Bakery flour

week. Mills ran five to six days in the
Southwest and Central states, four to
five in the Upper Midwest and Southeast
and 4½ to five in the Northeast. California mills were at five to six days and Pacific Northwest four to five. MBN

Family Flour

Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour were seasonally sluggish.
Carlot list prices were unchanged.
Manufacturers were pleased with sales
results in recent months. Volume continued to decline but only at the traditional
pace of about 3% a year. This was viewed
as impressive in the face of price hikes on
grocers' shelves averaging more than 20%.
Many major grocers buying private label product earlier covered their family
flour needs through December. But one
manufacturer indicated 50% of prospective requirements through the end of
the year remained to be booked. Buyers
hoped for pressure on prices from the expanding winter wheat harvest.
Manufacturers were pre-packaging
product for the fall baking season. MBN

Semolina

Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were limited last week.
Price changes were minor.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum in Minneapolis held at $17 a bu.
The price has been stable for the past few
weeks and compared with the all-time
high price of $26.50 a bu in late February and with $6.50 a bu a year ago. Price

changes in the cash durum market were
reflected in the semolina price. At $41.90 a
cwt, the current price was down 36% from
the all-time high of $65.35 in late February
and compared with $16.90 a cwt a year ago
and with $13.50 a cwt in June 2006.
Major pasta manufacturers earlier
covered their semolina needs through
September. New crop durum should begin to flow into processing and marketing channels in October. Pasta makers
hoped crop progress would push durum
prices lower in the interim.
An expanding desert harvest was a relief to buyers and sellers. Some contract
pricing was premised on the ability to
secure timely supply from the Arizona
harvest. That harvest was under way and
was expected to expand rapidly. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture indicated 50%
of the Arizona durum crop was harvest
ready on May 25 compared with 35% as
the recent five-year average for the date.
The U.S.D.A. indicated durum planting
on May 25 was 89% completed in North
Dakota and 91% completed in Montana.
Durum emergence was 62% in North Dakota and 54% in Montana, compared with
averages of 49% and 45%, respectively.
Planted durum needed moisture. The
North Dakota crop was rated 31% good
to excellent and 64% fair on May 25. 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 30 May 23 May 16 ago
May 30 May 23 May 16 ago Choice milling 13% 17.00
-
-
6.50
Kansas City
cents per bu
Bakers short patent
23.60
-0.35
-0.15 14.75 Amber discount
10.00
-
-
10.00
Bakers standard patent 23.50
-0.35
-0.15 14.65 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
26.85
-0.95
-0.30 14.15 Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from - Year
Spring standard patent 26.75
-0.95
-0.30 14.05
May 30
May 23 May 16
ago
High gluten
30.75
-0.95
-0.30 17.05
41.90
+.10
+.15
16.90
Whole wheat
26.75
-0.95
-0.30 14.05 Semolina
41.70
+.10
+.15
16.70
Specialty whole wheat 27.10
-0.95
-0.30 14.40 Granulars
41.60
+.10
+.15
16.60
Fancy spring clear
26.60
-0.95
-0.30 13.90 Flour
34.10
-
-
13.35
First spring clear
26.50
-0.95
-0.30 13.80 First clear
-
-
8.55
Rye, white
43.55
0.15
0.25 11.65 Second clear 12.10
Semolina - N.Y. 44.30
+.10
+.15
19.40
Chicago
Cracker
18.50
0.35
-0.10 13.70
Nationally advertised family flour
Fancy cake
20.00
0.35
-0.10 15.20
Dollars
New York
May 30
Year ago
Winter/spring blend
26.00
-0.35
-0.15 17.15
Family patent, 2-25s papers 22.50
15.36
Spring standard patent 29.70
-0.70
0.05 16.25
4-10s
18.24
13.00
High gluten
33.70
-0.70
0.05 19.25
8-5s
18.40
13.36
Fancy cake
22.00
0.35
-0.10 17.20
18-2s
21.76
15.66
Rye, white
46.05
0.15
0.25 14.15
Self-rising
+88c per bale +88c per bale
Los Angeles
Bakers standard patent 24.30
-0.75
-0.55 15.80
Pastry
27.80
-0.20
- 17.15
48 / June 3, 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 - June 3, 2008

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