Milling & Baking News - March 17, 2015 - 50

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were limited last week. Prices adjustments were
mixed. Pan bread flour and soft flour
prices were raised, mostly in response
to advancing wheat futures prices. The
volatile cash spring wheat basis tumbled, offsetting the effect of strong Minneapolis futures prices on spring grade
pricing considerations. Millfeed prices in
many markets were higher last week but
remained well below year-ago levels.
Cookie-cracker and specialty bakers
added to their April-June coverage with a
few covering a portion of their soft flour
needs into the third and fourth quarters.
While the cash market for soft red winter
wheat remained strong, in good part because of the below average quality of the
soft red winter wheat crop in many areas,
wheat futures prices, even with recent advances, were at the lowest levels in years,
which brought flour prices well within
many bakers' budgets. This encouraged
some to act now to avoid the vagaries of
a spring weather market. Soft flour coverage in the past several weeks lagged both
pan bread flour and spring flour coverage,
but last week's activity narrowed the gap.
Pan bread bakers continued to fill gaps
in second-quarter flour coverage, which,
when including component positions,
was estimated at about 80% of the expected needs for the quarter. Spring grade users' commitment to second-quarter coverage was slightly more extensive, and
soft flour coverage was slightly less so.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's

Bakery ﬂour
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
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
50 / March 17, 2015

Prospective Plantings report, which will
be issued March 31, was eagerly awaited. The U.S.D.A.'s March World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates
failed to excite the market or provide
direction.
Grind averaged 5½ to six days in most
regions. MBN

Family Flour
Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour increased last week. Carlot list prices were unchanged.
Grocers and other buyers stepped
up the pace of order placement as they
began to build inventory in advance of
Easter, which typically sees an increase
in home baking. After Easter, it was expected family flour demand will revert
to the routine for the next few months.
Some holiday-related promotions
were in evidence. It was expected store
shelf offers at two 5-lb bags for $5 will be
commonplace.
In the market for private label family
flour, most buyers have covered their
flour needs through July with some even
having extended contract balances into
August. MBN

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were limited last week.
Price changes were minor.
The price of choice milling hard amber durum at the Chicago gateway was
quoted at $12 a bu, unchanged from the
previous week but down $8 a bu from

mid-November 2014. The Minneapolis
price was quoted at $11.70 a bu.
Pasta manufacturers, durum millers
and growers attended the annual meeting
of the National Pasta Association March
8-10 outside Phoenix. With pasta makers
holding comfortable semolina coverage
through the second quarter, there was
adequate time to discuss prospects for
the coming year without the pressure of
having to conduct urgent business. There
was discussion on the importance of continuing support for research into improving durum varieties and quality.
One durum miller indicated his customers have booked about 80% of their
prospective semolina requirements for
April-June.
Durum grind averaged about 5½ to
six days last week.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
on March 10 lowered its forecast for the
carryover of durum on June 1, 2015, to
16 million bus, down 6 million bus from
both the February projection and the 2014
carryover at 22 million bus. The lower
carryover forecast was tied to a 5-millionbu hike in the U.S.D.A.'s forecast for
2014-15 durum exports to 30 million bus.
The U.S.D.A. field office in Arizona
rated the state's durum crop as of March
8 at 72% good and 28% fair. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$22.00
$20.00
$18.00

No. 1 hard amber durum
Track, Chicago
- Change from - Year $ per bu
Mar. 13
Mar. 13 Mar. 6 Feb. 27 ago Choice milling 13% 12.00
15.65
15.55
13.00
...

0.30
0.30
-
...

0.20
0.20
-
...

20.55 Track, Minneapolis
20.45 $ per bu
14.00 Cchoice milling 13% 11.70
...

17.55
17.45
20.45
17.45
17.80
17.30
17.20
22.75

-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05

0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.15

21.55
21.45
24.45
21.45
21.80
21.30
21.20
22.40

12.75
14.25

0.40
0.40

-0.05
-0.05

16.85
18.35

18.05
19.70
22.70
16.25
25.25

0.30
-0.05
-0.05
0.40
-0.05

0.20
0.40
0.40
-0.05
0.15

22.95
24.20
27.20
20.35
24.90

20.55
20.60

0.30
0.30

0.20
0.20

25.85
25.70

Milling & Baking News

- Change from - Year
Mar. 6 Feb. 27 ago
-
-.50 13.00

$16.00
$14.00
M

S
Previous Year

D
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-

-.50

9.50

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

Semolina

$25.00

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
Mar. 13 Mar. 6 Feb. 27
Semolina
29.15
-.05
-1.15
Granulars
28.95
-.05
-1.15
Flour
28.85
-.05
-1.15
First clear
...
...
Second clear
...
...
Semolina - N.Y. 31.95
-.05
-1.15

$23.00

Year
ago
30.90
30.70
30.60
17.55
13.50
33.60

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

$21.00
$19.00
$17.00
$15.00
M

S
Previous Year

D
Current Year

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

Dollars
Mar. 13
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
M

S
Previous Year

D
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - March 17, 2015

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