Milling & Baking News - April 21, 2009 - 62

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour

Bookings of bakery flour were limited
last week. Prices continued to drop.
With prices on the decline, well-covered
bakers exercised patience. Wheat futures
prices continued to work lower through
most of the week. While there were concerns about frost damage in Oklahoma
and Kansas, grain-making rains fell across
western portions of Kansas, raising hopes
potential losses in production because of
frost would be more than offset by good
yields for the rest of the crop. The cash
wheat basis in Kansas City edged lower.
The cash market in Minneapolis was unsettled. While mills' needs weren't deep,
there were worries cash wheat movement might slow further because farmers
were eager to begin spring fieldwork and
planting and road restrictions made it difficult to haul grain off the farms.
Most flour bookings last week were
fill-ins for April-May. Individual specialty bread bakers put on some coverage for July-September with a few even
extending contract balances into the
fourth quarter. But this business was the
exception. Most bakers weren't willing
to book that far forward. Cookie-cracker
and specialty bakers held more extensive
flour ownership than the bread bakers,
but they, too, were mostly to be found on
the sidelines last week.
Bread flour coverage for April-June was
estimated at about 65% to 75% completed
with ownership frontloaded into AprilMay. Third-quarter coverage was light.
Flour grind remained light with some

Bakery flour

mills down the Monday following Easter. Grind in the Southwest averaged five
days with the Upper Midwest at five to
six. Central states mills ran four to five
days, Northeast ran about 4½ and Southeast ran less than five. West coast mills
were mostly at five to six days. MBN

Family Flour

Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour were light last week. Carlot list prices were unchanged.
Manufacturers awaited data on sales
leading up to Easter. Year-on-year comparisons with 2008 were complicated by
the later date for Easter this year (April
12) than last, when the holiday fell in late
March. Indications were category volume sales in the 52 weeks ended March
21 were down 2% from a year earlier, and
March sales alone were down 11% from
2008. But the volume during the two
weeks leading to Easter was very strong,
with sales in the week ended April 4 up
30% from the same interval in 2008. Results from the last week before Easter
were expected to be strong as well.
With Easter past, it was expected family flour sales would revert to the routine
until the start of the new school year and
the approach of fall.
Buyers of private label family flour
booked their prospective needs for the
summer with a few extending contract
balances through the fall. MBN

durum flour were limited last week.
Price changes were narrow.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum held at $8.25 a bu last week, although there were hints of a slight firming in the market. This was reflected in
the Canadian Wheat Board raising its
price of milling durum held in storage in
Thunder Bay, Ont., by 5c to the equivalent of $8.55 a bu. Cash durum trading
was minimal to lacking, which precluded a test of the market.
There were concerns about planting
delays in the durum region because of
cool and wet conditions. One miller said
fieldwork was under way across some of
the area associated with durum in North
Dakota and some fields may have been
planted. But these were the exception.
The average starting date for planting
in North Dakota was pushed into early
May, which was a couple of weeks behind the normal pace.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
indicated 45% of the durum crop in Arizona was headed as of April 12.
Pasta
manufacturers'
semolina
needs were solidly booked through
May, and June requirements were
about 40% to 50% covered. Semolina
needs for the third quarter were 20%
to 30% covered. MBN

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

Semolina

Bookings of semolina, granulars and

No. 1 hard amber durum

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

Track, Minneapolis
- Change from - Year
- Change from - Year $ per bu
Apr. 17 Apr. 10 Apr. 3 ago
Apr. 17 Apr. 10
Apr. 3 ago Choice milling 13% 8.25
-
-
18.00
Kansas City
cents per bu
Bakers short patent
15.60
-0.35
-1.45 25.75 Amber discount
10.00
-
-
10.00
Bakers standard patent 15.50
-0.35
-1.45 25.65 Durum discount
10@40
-
- 10@40
Second clear
13.00
-
- 13.00 Puffing premium
0
-
-
0
Third clear
5.80
-
-
5.80
Semolina
Minneapolis
Spring short patent
17.25
-0.10
-1.60 27.80 Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from - Year
Spring standard patent 17.15
-0.10
-1.60 27.70
Apr. 17
Apr. 10 Apr. 3
ago
High gluten
20.15
-0.10
-1.60 31.70
20.85
-.15
-.25
44.00
Whole wheat
17.15
-0.10
-1.60 27.70 Semolina
20.65
-.15
-.25
43.80
Specialty whole wheat 17.50
-0.10
-1.60 28.05 Granulars
20.55
-.15
-.25
43.70
Fancy spring clear
17.00
-0.10
-1.60 27.55 Flour
17.85
-
-
34.10
First spring clear
16.90
-0.10
-1.60 27.45 First clear
-
-
12.10
Rye, white
17.50
-0.30
-0.40 50.75 Second clear 13.00
Semolina - N.Y. 23.55
-.15
-.30
46.40
Chicago
Cracker
12.45
-0.20
-1.25 20.40
Nationally advertised family flour
Fancy cake
13.95
-0.20
-1.25 21.90
Dollars
New York
Apr. 17
Year ago
Winter/spring blend
18.00
-0.35
-1.45 28.15
Family patent, 2-25s papers 22.50
22.50
Spring standard patent 19.50
-0.05
-1.70 30.20
4-10s
18.25
18.24
High gluten
22.50
-0.05
-1.70 34.20
8-5s
18.40
18.40
Fancy cake
15.95
-0.20
-1.25 23.90
18-2s
21.76
21.76
Rye, white
20.00
-0.30
-0.40 53.25
Self-rising
+88c per bale +88c per bale
Los Angeles
Bakers standard patent 17.50
-0.35
-1.45 27.55
Pastry
14.80
-0.35
-1.45 33.15
52 / April 21, 2009

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 - April 21, 2009

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