Milling & Baking News - December 13, 2011 - 34

Ingredient Week 

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were limited last week. Prices declined. Several bakers with gaps to fill in December coverage did so. Other bakers put on additional coverage for January-March either by booking the flour outright or covering outstanding components that allowed them to assemble fully completed contracts for the quarter. In many instances, this was accomplished by bakers booking the cash basis as they earlier took futures coverage and booked their millfeed credits. The basis activity was most pronounced in Kansas City and Minneapolis, reflecting commitments toward pan bread flour or spring wheat flour contracts. The cash basis in Kansas City remained historically strong, while the spring wheat basis has been weakening. Spring wheat prices remained at wide premiums to hard red winter wheat prices, which encouraged substitution of hard winter wheat for spring wheat of equivalent protein in the grist whenever it was possible to do so. Millers also indicated individual bakers extended flour contract balances into April-June, but business for that quarter fell well short of inquiry. It was thought the pace of flour booking may pick up just ahead of Christmas as buyers seek to tie loose ends before they leave for the holidays. January-March flour coverage was estimated at around 55%. When component activity is considered, around

80% of the first quarter’s prospective flour business was in various stages of completion. Flour grind in most regions averaged 5½ to six days, but individual mills ran as hard as seven days in Central states and as light as five days in California and the Southwest. MBN

Family Flour
Sales of national and regional brands of family ﬂour were limited last week. Carlot list prices were unchanged. Orders increased with the approach of the winter holidays but were not anywhere near as heavy as during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Shipments were expected to fall sharply after the holidays as business in the market for family ﬂour reverts to the routine with the baking season over. Product promotions during the baking season to date were more aggressive than many anticipated. Offers of two 5-lb bags at $4 were fairly commonplace. Buyers of private label ﬂour were turning their attention to completing coverage of their needs through the remainder of the crop year. MBN

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, granulars and durum ﬂour expanded. Price changes were narrow following the sharp decline seen the previous week. Individual major pasta manufacturers covered their ﬁrst-quarter 2012 needs bringing industry coverage for

January-February to an estimated 75%. The price of choice milling hard amber durum quoted as a delivered Chicago/ beyond value remained $12.75 a bu, which equated to a Minneapolis price of $12.45 a bu. Durum and semolina prices remained the lowest since May, when there were high hopes for the 2011 crop that were dashed by unrelenting poor spring weather. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Dec. 9 forecast the carryover of durum in the United States on June 1, 2012, at 26 million bus, unchanged from the November projection and down 9 million bus from 35 million bus in 2011. U.S. durum production in 2011 was estimated at 50 million bus, down 56 million bus, or 53%, from 106 million bus in 2010. It was the smallest U.S. durum crop since the drought year 1988. Imports of durum in 2011-12 were forecast at 46 million bus compared with 32 million bus in the previous year. Imports would account for 35% of the U.S. durum supply in the current year compared with 18% in 2010-11. Domestic use of durum in 2011-12 was forecast at 85 million bus, down 10 million bus from the previous year. Durum exports in 2011-12 were forecast at 20 million tonnes compared with 43 million bus in the previous year. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$26.00 $23.00 $20.00 $17.00 $14.00 $11.00 D M J
Previous Year

Bakery ﬂour
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt Dec. 9 Kansas City Bakers short patent Bakers standard patent Second clear Third clear Minneapolis Spring short patent Spring standard patent High gluten Whole wheat Specialty whole wheat Fancy spring clear First spring clear Rye, white Chicago Cracker Fancy cake New York Winter/spring blend Spring standard patent High gluten Fancy cake Rye, white Los Angeles Bakers standard patent Pastry 17.40 17.30 12.50 5.80 20.30 20.20 23.20 20.20 20.55 20.05 19.95 20.05 13.70 15.20 19.80 22.55 25.55 17.20 22.55 21.50 19.95 — Change from — Year Dec. 2 Nov. 25 ago -0.75 -0.75 — — -0.65 -0.65 -0.65 -0.65 -0.65 -0.65 -0.65 — -0.95 -0.95 -0.75 -0.95 -0.95 -0.95 — -0.75 -0.75 -0.30 -0.30 — — -1.15 -1.15 -1.15 -1.15 -1.15 -1.15 -1.15 -1.55 -0.10 -0.10 -0.30 -1.30 -1.30 -0.10 -1.55 -0.30 -0.30

No. 1 hard amber durum
Track, Minneapolis $ per bu Choice milling 13% cents per bu 19.05 Amber discount 18.95 Durum discount 12.50 Pufﬁng premium 5.80 Dec. 9 12.45 10.00 10@40 0 — Change from — Year Dec. 2 Nov. 25 ago — -1.00 9.20 — — — — — — 10.00 10@40 0
S
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$33.00 $29.00

Semolina

21.00 20.90 23.90 20.90 21.25 20.75 20.65 18.35 18.20 19.70 21.45 23.40 26.40 21.70 20.85 21.75 20.00

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt — Change from — Dec. 9 Dec. 2 Nov. 25 Semolina 29.80 — -2.50 Granulars 29.60 — -2.50 Flour 29.50 — -2.50 First clear 19.10 — — Second clear 13.00 — — Semolina - N.Y. 32.50 — -2.50

Year ago 22.10 21.90 21.80 13.60 11.00 24.80

$25.00 $21.00 $17.00 $13.00 D M J
Previous Year

S
Current Year

Nationally advertised family ﬂour
Dollars Dec. 9 Family patent, 2-25s papers 24.12 4-10s n.a. 8-5s 18.62 18-2s 20.64 Self-rising n.a. Year ago 22.50 18.25 18.40 21.76 +88c per bale

Cracker ﬂour, Chicago
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$22.00 $18.00 $14.00 $10.00 D M J
Previous Year

S
Current Year

34 / December 13, 2011 Milling & Baking News

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Milling & Baking News - December 13, 2011

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