Milling & Baking News - November 4, 2008 - 36

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour

Bookings of bakery flour were light
last week. Prices advanced.
A surge in wheat futures prices at
midweek shut off most interest in booking flour. Additionally, cash wheat premiums in Minneapolis and Kansas City
registered sharp gains, and mill bids on
soft red winter wheat leapt higher, adding to the upward pressure on flour prices. Providing a partial offset to stronger
wheat futures and cash wheat premiums
was a surge in millfeed prices in some
locations at midweek following wide
gains scored in corn futures.
Higher millfeed prices for JanuaryJune encouraged some bread bakers to
lock in the feed component of prospective flour contracts for those months.
Individual bakers concerned cash wheat
premiums in K.C. and Minneapolis
might continue to advance booked basis only for January-March. Most bakers
held off extending coverage of futures in
the hope prices would turn lower again.
Most booking last week involved
filling gaps in November-December
coverage. In the market for bread flour,
it was estimated coverage for those
months was about 75% of the potential. January-March coverage was estimated at about 25% to 30% of prospective needs.
Some major cookie-cracker and specialty bakers in recent weeks covered
their January-March soft flour needs. Soft
flour users typically hold more extensive
flour ownership than the bread bakers.

Bakery flour

Southwest mills ran six days last week.
Six day grind also was indicated in the
Upper Midwest, Southeast and Northeast. Mills in Central states ran six to 6½
days, California and Pacific Northwest
mills also were at six to 6½ days. MBN

Family Flour

Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour were seasonally brisk.
Carlot list prices were unchanged.
Volume sales increased on a yearto-year basis for each of the past five
months (May-September), and it seemed
October would continue the trend. All
manufacturers benefited from the increased demand for family flour, but
private label manufacturers benefited
more proportionately when compared
with the national and regional brands, as
cost-conscious consumers increasingly
gravitated to lower-priced store brands.
Fall promotions and ads were evident
but were not aggressive. Some grocers
offered regional brands at two 5-lb bags
for $5, and ads were expected offering
some product down to $1.99 a 5-lb bag.
No change in carlot list pricing was expected until after the baking season. MBN

Semolina

Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were limited last week.
Prices dropped.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum in Minneapolis dropped $1 a bu,
to $10. The durum price was the lowest
since summer 2007 and compared with

the all-time high of $26.50 a bu in February of this year and an October 2007
price of $18 a bu. Semolina prices dipped
below $25 last week for the first time
since August 2007 and at around $24.90
a cwt compared with an all-time high of
around $65.35 a cwt in late February and
$46.05 a cwt in October 2007.
The Canadian Wheat Board lowered
its offer on milling durum held in store
at Thunder Bay, Ont., by $1.25, to the
equivalent of $11 a bu.
The price drop in durum reflected
confidence in the 2008-09 supply of quality durum, indications the C.W.B. sought
sales to the U.S. and the still wide premium of durum wheat to spring wheat.
That spread encouraged substitution
of hard red spring wheat for durum in
blends for pasta products not requiring
100% durum semolina throughout the
2007-08 marketing year. Substitution
was expected to remain heavy until cash
durum prices are brought down more
in line with the traditional $1 spread between spring wheat and durum prices.
Pasta makers covered most of their
November-December needs weeks
ago. Individual pasta manufacturers
extended contract balances into January-March, though most held back for
lower prices. 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
Oct. 31 Oct. 24 Oct. 17 ago
Oct. 31 Oct. 24 Oct. 17 ago Choice milling 13% 10.00
-1.25
-2.00 18.00
Kansas City
cents per bu
Bakers short patent
15.40
0.55
-0.20 20.60 Amber discount
10.00
-
-
10.00
Bakers standard patent 15.30
0.55
-0.20 20.50 Durum discount
10@40
-
- 10@40
Second clear
13.00
-
- 10.00 Puffing premium
0
-
-
0
Third clear
5.80
-
-
5.80
Semolina
Minneapolis
Spring short patent
17.30
1.35
0.75 20.70 Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from - Year
Spring standard patent 17.20
1.35
0.75 20.60
Oct. 31 Oct. 24 Oct. 17
ago
High gluten
21.20
1.35
0.75 21.60
25.15
-2.85
-4.60
44.85
Whole wheat
17.20
1.35
0.75 20.60 Semolina
24.95
-2.85
-4.60
44.65
Specialty whole wheat 17.55
1.35
0.75 20.95 Granulars
24.85
-2.85
-4.60
44.55
Fancy spring clear
17.05
1.35
0.75 20.45 Flour
24.00
-
-
33.65
First spring clear
16.95
1.35
0.75 20.35 First clear
-
-
10.25
Rye, white
20.00
0.45
- 18.25 Second clear 14.00
Semolina - N.Y. 27.55
-2.85
-4.60
47.35
Chicago
Cracker
11.30
1.95
2.10 18.70
Nationally advertised family flour
Fancy cake
12.80
1.95
2.10 20.20
Dollars
New York
Oct. 31
Year ago
Winter/spring blend
17.80
0.55
-0.20 23.00
Family patent, 2-25s papers 22.50
16.05
Spring standard patent 19.50
1.20
0.45 23.40
4-10s
18.24
13.78
High gluten
23.50
1.20
0.45 24.40
8-5s
18.40
13.96
Fancy cake
14.80
1.95
2.10 22.20
18-2s
21.76
15.66
Rye, white
22.50
0.45
- 20.75
Self-rising
+88c per bale +88c per bale
Los Angeles
Bakers standard patent 18.00
-0.90
-0.40 23.35
Pastry
17.65
-0.25
-1.35 27.50
36 / November 4, 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 - November 4, 2008

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