Milling & Baking News - November 18, 2008 - 52

Ingredient Week

Sweeteners

Corn sweetener processors indicated
excellent progress in completing 2009
contracts last week while individual
buyers reported a standoff on prospective pricing. Some sellers completed up
to 70% of their prospective business by
the end of the preceding week, including up to 50% of list price selling. Corn
sweetener processors announced a 3.5ca-lb hike from 2008 contract prices some
weeks back, and some sellers claimed
they were booking at levels reflecting
that hike through the end of the week.
Competition increased compared with
a year ago. Some sources noted discounting, but most acknowledged sellers were
holding firm on the 3.5c upturn pending
further developments in the corn market or within the corn sweetener sector.
Several sources claimed buyers were
seeking to limit the increase to 2.5c, and
while some voiced hope they might go
as low as a 1.5c hike, they agreed this
was unlikely. Competition included both
55% and 42% high-fructose corn syrup
as well as dried products.
Rumors surfaced some sellers were
threatening to withdraw existing prices
in an effort to end the impasse. Ongoing
volatility in corn and other marketplace
uncertainties suggested corn sweetener
negotiations might become prolonged.
New sugar bookings were limited
even as a major seller advanced its asking price to 38c f.o.b. Midwest from 35c.

Beet and cane sugar

Acknowledging business was negligible
at the higher level, the seller said substantial bookings prompted the advance
as a means to withdraw from the market
temporarily. A possible factor also was
harvesting problems in the Red River
Valley, where producers were unable to
finish because of wet conditions. Some
indicated they would not attempt to remove remaining beets before spring. Local sources estimated the potential loss
at 5,000 tons of finished sugar.
Ongoing pressure on nearby No. 14
raw contracts reflected significant imports of Mexican estandar.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Nov. 10 WASDE report projected 200809 U.S sugar supply up 251,000 short
tons, raw value, from October based
on a 25,000-ton increase in beet sugar
production because of the larger sugar
beet crop, a 181,000-ton increase in beginning stocks and a 45,000-ton increase
in imports. Projected demand numbers
were unchanged from October. The projected stocks-to-use ratio was 8.3%, up
from 6% a month earlier but off from
15.8% a year ago. MBN

Bakery Shortening

Bookings of bakery shortening were
light last week. Most prices were lower.
Soybean oil prices declined. Soybean
oil futures priced dropped in sync with
prices in the rest of the soy complex. Sluggish demand and weak outside markets,

in particular crude oil, exerted weight.
The cash basis on soybean oil firmed but
not enough to offset the weakness in futures. Refiners pointed to difficulties in
prying soybeans for crushing loose from
firm country hands as the reason for the
firm cash market.
Soybean oil users, wary of booking too
far forward given the recent downtrend
in pricing, bought hand to mouth.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
on Nov. 10 projected 2008-09 U.S. soybean oil ending stocks at 2,016 million
lbs, down 24 million lbs from the October forecast and down 455 million lbs,
or 18%, from 2,471 million lbs the previous year. Production of soybean oil was
projected at 19,895 million lbs, down 170
million lbs from October because of a
reduction in soybean crushings to 1,745
million bus from 1,760 million bus as the
October forecast.
Cottonseed oil and sunflowerseed oil
were burdened with the flow of new
crop supplies to refineries. Deliveries of
peanuts for processing also were increasing, with the 2008 crop forecast record
large, but prices of peanut oil were supported because of holiday demand for
turkey fryers. It was expected peanut oil
prices may crash after the holiday.
Palm oil prices continued to decline
with stocks burdensome in Malaysia and
Indonesia.
Tallow remained the "sick man" of the
fats and oils market. MBN

Sweeteners
Delivered basis, cents per lb
42% HFCS spot price1

f.o.b. plant, cents per lb

HFCS list price2
Regular
- Change from - Year
corn
Nov. 14
Nov. 7 Oct. 31 ago
syrup3
Dextrose
42% HFCS wet 55% HFCS wet
Nov. 14
Year ago
Midwest beet 35.00 @ 38.00
-
-
24.50
23.375 East
22.375
25.375 net
173/8@ 223/8 173/8@ 175/8
34.85@36.85
Pacific beet
35.00 @ 38.00
-
-
26.00 Midwest
7
24.925 Midwest
23.925
26.925 net
33.85@35.85
Cane*
35.00 @ 35.05
-
-
25.90 Northeast 18¾@ 23 /8 18¾@ 19
25.125 West
24.125
27.125 net
Southeast 187/8@ 241/8 187/8@ 191/8
36.85@38.85
*Spot raw plus 7% plus 11.50c with 2% cash discount.
24.625
23.625
26.625 net
Southwest 18½@ 235/8 18½@ 18¾
Raw cane
25.325
24.325
27.325 net
West
193/8@ 243/8 193/8@ 195/8
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
- Change from -
Contract
Nov. 14 Nov. 7 Oct. 31
Nearby
19.90
-.50
-.50
November-December 19.90
-.50
-.50
January-March
20.30
-.30
-.65
April-June
21.30
+.30
-.25
July-September
21.45
+.15
+.05
October-December 21.45
-.05
-.15

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

Year
ago
20.00
20.00
20.00
19.95
20.35
20.70

Chicago soybean oil futures
Bulk in tank cars, cents per lb
Nov. 14
- Change from -
Delivery
close
Nov. 7
Oct. 31
December 32.60
-1.30
-1.00
January
32.97
-1.39
-1.11
March
33.41
-1.42
-1.15
May
33.83
-1.40
-1.16
July
34.14
-1.41
-1.19
August
34.32
-1.43
-1.20

Edible oils
Bulk, cents per lb
Year
ago
44.82
45.33
45.81
46.12
46.35
46.30

Crude soybean oil
Bulk in tank cars, cents per lb
Delivery
Decatur, Ill.
November
31.00 @31.10
December
31.00 @31.10
January
31.37 @31.47
February
31.19 @31.29
March
31.81 @31.91
April
32.27 @32.37
May
32.48 @32.58
52 / November 18, 2008

Milling & Baking News

Western points
29.85 @30.60
29.85 @30.60
30.22 @30.97
30.04 @30.79
30.66 @31.41
31.12 @31.87
31.33 @32.08

- Change from - Year
Nov. 14 Nov. 7 Oct. 31 ago
Soybean oil,
Decatur
Loose lard, Chicago
Edible tallow,
Chicago
Cottonseed oil,
Miss. PBSY
Palm oil, ports
Palm kernel oil,
ports
Coconut oil
Peanut oil,
Southeast
Corn oil, Decatur
Sunflowerseed oil,
Midwest
Canola oil, Midwest

30.75
35.25

-1.50
-

-1.50
-1.00

42.75
34.50

23.50

-1.00

37.00

36.25
37.50

-2.25
-1.25

-7.50
-2.00

64.75
48.50

41.25
45.50

-2.00
-1.25

-4.00
-3.50

57.50
52.00

90.00
35.00

-
-.75

-
-

91.00
60.00

55.00
39.75

-
-1.75

-15.00 85.00
-1.00 57.75

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - November 18, 2008

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