Milling & Baking News - January 26, 2010 - 31

Ingredient Week 

 Bakery Flour

Activity in bakery flour remained
brisk with flat price booking and heavy
hedging in wheat futures markets. Prices
dropped.
Several bakers covered the futures
component of prospective flour contracts reflecting their needs for several
timeframes. Most of the futures activity was in the May and July futures
contracts, but futures as a component
of flour sales in instances were covered
through December 2010.
Flat pricing of flour was indicated to
complete February-March ownership
and to extend contract balances into the
second quarter of the year. While coverage for February-March was approaching 80%, April-June flat coverage didn't
increase much during the week and was
estimated at around 30%. Cookie-cracker and specialty bakers and other users
of soft flour had slightly more extensive
ownership than the bread bakers in both
quarters. One miller commented industry coverage was more extensive than
usual for the time of year.
Baker activity in wheat futures was
encouraged by declining wheat prices.
Bakers also covered the millfeed component of flour contracts, but this activity
applied mostly to nearby flour needs as
the wide discount of spring and summer
millfeed pricing compared with nearby
prices discouraged buyers from booking
millfeed credits much beyond March.
Specialty bread bakers and other users
of spring grades booked basis, but this

Bakery flour

activity also pertained mostly to completing first-quarter flour bookings.
Mill grind was five to six days in the
Upper Midwest, 5½ to six days in the
Central states, four to 5½ in the Southwest, five in the Southeast and 5½ in the
Northeast. West coast grind remained
around 5½ days. MBN

 Family Flour

Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour were seasonally sluggish
last week. Carlot list prices were unchanged.
Standing out in an otherwise quiet
week was contracting by private label
buyers. With wheat futures prices slipping to three-month lows, several buyers stepped in to complete contracts covering their family flour needs through
June. There was no indication of interest
for contracting beyond June.
Ideas were grocers and other retailers
of family flour were preparing Easter-related advertisements and other production promotions to appear earlier than
was typical in recent years, mirroring
the more active stance toward marketing
exhibited before the winter holidays. MBN

 Semolina

Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour expanded last week. Prices
declined.
With semolina coverage nearly solid
through March, attention shifted to
building April-June ownership. Individual pasta manufacturers extended their

contract balances in the second quarter
of 2010 with some millers indicating
about 70% of their prospective business
for April-June was on the books. With
durum stocks ample in both the United
States and Canada, and given the recent
decline in wheat markets generally, pasta manufacturers seemed to have little
concern prices would surge in the near
term, which encouraged patience with
regard to booking new crop supply
At the same time, durum plantings may
drop in 2010 compared with last year. The
U.S. Department of Agriculture in its Winter Wheat Seedings report issued Jan. 12
estimated durum seedings in Arizona and
California for harvest in 2010 at 205,000
acres, down 33% from 305,000 acres in
2009. The durum grown in those states is
harvested in the spring and provides mills
with new crop to grind while awaiting
the northern Plains crop harvested in the
middle of the summer.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum in Minneapolis held at $5.80 a bu
with quotes from suppliers ranging from
$5.70 to $6 a bu. One miller indicated
contracts were beginning to be priced
using Chicago as a base point instead of
Minneapolis, and he indicated the Chicago price was at a 30c premium to the
price quoted in Minneapolis. 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
Jan. 22 Jan. 15 Jan. 8 ago
Jan. 22 Jan. 15
Jan. 8 ago Choice milling 13% 5.80
-
-.05
9.25
Kansas City
cents per bu
Bakers short patent
13.35
-0.30
-1.00 16.50 Amber discount
10
-
-
10
Bakers standard patent 13.25
-0.30
-1.00 16.40 Durum discount
10@40
-
- 10@40
Second clear
12.50
-
- 13.00 Puffing premium
0
-
-
0
Third clear
5.80
-
-
5.80
Semolina
Minneapolis
Spring short patent
15.45
-1.25
-1.65 18.95 Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from - Year
Spring standard patent 15.35
-1.25
-1.65 18.85
Jan. 22 Jan. 15 Jan. 8
ago
High gluten
18.35
-1.25
-1.65 21.85
14.40
-.15
-.45
23.10
Whole wheat
15.35
-1.25
-1.65 18.85 Semolina
14.20
-.15
-.45
22.90
Specialty whole wheat 15.70
-1.25
-1.65 19.20 Granulars
14.10
-.15
-.45
22.80
Fancy spring clear
15.20
-1.25
-1.65 18.70 Flour
13.05
-
-
21.00
First spring clear
15.10
-1.25
-1.65 18.60 First clear
-
-
13.00
Rye, white
14.95
-0.25
-0.50 18.40 Second clear 11.00
Semolina - N.Y. 17.10
-.15
-.45
25.80
Chicago
Cracker
13.00
-0.45
-2.10 13.65
Nationally advertised family flour
Fancy cake
14.50
-0.45
-2.10 15.15
Dollars
New York
Jan. 22
Year ago
Winter/spring blend
15.75
-0.30
-1.00 18.90
Family patent, 2-25s papers 22.50
22.50
Spring standard patent 17.60
-1.20
-1.35 20.85
4-10s
18.25
18.24
High gluten
20.60
-1.20
-1.35 23.85
8-5s
18.40
18.40
Fancy cake
16.50
-0.45
-2.10 17.15
18-2s
21.76
21.76
Rye, white
17.45
-0.25
-0.50 20.90
Self-rising
+88c per bale +88c per bale
Los Angeles
Bakers standard patent 15.40
-0.55
-1.05 20.00
Pastry
16.50
-0.45
-0.50 18.95
32 / January 26, 2010 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 - January 26, 2010

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