Milling & Baking News - January 20, 2015 - 36

Ingredient Week 

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were steady
last week. The pace of activity accelerated a week earlier during the first full
week of the new year, and last week saw
follow-through interest in extending
contract balances in the second quarter
of 2015. Price adjustments were mixed
with spring standard patent quotes
raised while pan bread and soft flour
prices were lowered.
Flour coverage for January-March was
nearly completed. Last week, several bakers with gaps to fill in February-March
coverage completed contracts for those
months, mostly by covering outstanding
basis positions. Others were expected
to follow soon. The advance in hard red
winter wheat cash basis last week underscored ideas there may be more upside
risk for cash wheat premiums than downside potential, especially since their rapid
fall in recent weeks.
Millers indicated a number of bakers
and other flour buyers were extending
April-June contract balances or commitments. Coverage and commitments to
contracts for the second quarter of 2015
were estimated to equate to about 35%
of needs for April-June in the case of pan
bread flour and soft flour. Spring grade users held slightly more extensive coverage.
Individual major bakers considered
covering the futures component of prospective flour contracts as far forward
as December, but at this point, this was
inquiry amid some concern of such low
volume in trading that far forward.

Bakery ﬂour

Family Flour
Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour were seasonally light last
week. Carlot list prices were unchanged.
The business pace was slow with few
orders being placed. Many grocers and
other retail outlets continued to work
down inventories left after the holidays.
In many instances they were wearing
thin, and manufacturers expected an increase in orders to at least routine levels
in the next couple of weeks.
In the market for private label flour,
most buyers covered their needs through
April before they left offices for the winter holidays. Their attention was turned
toward completing coverage through
May, or through old crop. Inquiry on
pricing for April-May increased, but no
significant business was completed. MBN

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were limited last week.
Prices dropped to the lowest levels since
mid-September 2014.
The price of choice milling hard amber durum continued to decline. Durum
mills were mostly comfortable with
durum inventories and pipelines. The
relatively mild winter to date has enabled durum mills to receive shipments

in a mostly orderly fashion, which was
much different from a year ago, when
rail logistics were horrendous because of
brutal weather and heavy rail shipments
of oil, coal and containers that seemed to
take precedence over durum and other
grain that had to move.
Pasta manufacturers covered most if
not all of their first-quarter 2015 semolina
requirements before the winter holidays.
Attention was on April-June, but semolina buyers, with durum prices on the decline, didn't seem to feel pressure to book.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
indicated Dec. 1, 2014, durum stocks totaled 41,979,000 bus, down 22% from a
year earlier. The U.S.D.A. left unchanged
its forecast for the 2015 durum carryover
at 22 million bus, which was equal to
the 2014 carryover. Durum imports in
2014-15 were forecast at a record 65 million bus compared with 44 million bus
in 2013-14.
Durum millers and pasta makers were
concerned about the tight supply of
quality durum in the rest of 2014-15.
The U.S.D.A. in its Winter Wheat
Seedings report estimated area planted
to durum in Arizona and California for
harvest in 2015 (comprising the "desert
durum" crop) at 155,000 acres, up 44%
from 2014 and up 7% from 2013. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$23.00
$21.00
$19.00

No. 1 hard amber durum

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
Jan. 16
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

Millers pointed to a welcome pick-up
in shipments following the holiday lull.
While rail logistics were much improved
from a year ago, some mills pointed to
problems accessing flour cars. MBN

Track, Chicago
- Change from - Year $ per bu
Jan. 16
Jan. 9
Jan. 2 ago Choice milling 13% 15.00

15.80
15.70
13.00
...

-0.05
-0.05
-1.00
...

-0.20
-0.20
-1.00
...

18.25 Track, Minneapolis
18.15 $ per bu
14.00 Choice milling 13% 14.70
...

17.10
17.00
20.00
17.00
17.35
16.85
16.75
22.50

0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
-0.40

0.75
0.75
0.75
0.75
0.75
0.75
0.75
-0.30

22.60
22.50
25.50
22.50
22.85
22.35
22.25
23.25

13.50
15.00

-1.00
-1.00

-1.25
-1.25

14.90
16.40

18.20
19.25
22.25
17.00
25.00

-0.05
0.45
0.45
-1.00
-0.40

-0.20
1.00
1.00
-1.25
-0.30

20.65
24.95
27.95
18.40
25.75

20.70
20.75

-0.05
-0.05

-0.20
-0.20

23.55
23.40

36 / January 20, 2015 Milling & Baking News

- Change from - Year
Jan. 9
Jan. 2 ago
-.30
-1.30 10.25

$17.00
$15.00
J

J
Previous Year

O
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-.30

-1.30

9.50

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$27.00

Semolina

$25.00

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
Jan. 16
Jan. 9
Jan. 2
Semolina
36.50
-1.00
-3.45
Granulars
36.30
-1.00
-3.45
Flour
36.20
-1.00
-3.45
First clear
...
...
Second clear
...
...
Semolina - N.Y. 39.30
-1.00
-3.45

$23.00

Year
ago
24.60
24.40
24.30
17.55
13.50
27.30

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

$21.00
$19.00
$17.00
$15.00
J

J
Previous Year

O
Current Year

Cracker ﬂour, Chicago
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$21.00

Dollars
Jan. 16
Family patent, 2-25s papers 24.12
4-10s
n.a.
8-5s
18.52
18-2s
20.64
Self-rising
n.a.

$19.00

Year ago
24.12
n.a.
18.52
20.64
n.a.

$17.00
$15.00
$13.00
$11.00
$9.00
J

J
Previous Year

O
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - January 20, 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - January 20, 2015