Milling & Baking News - March 15, 2016 - 48

Ingredient Week X

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were limited
last week. Prices were adjusted higher as
wheat futures advanced from contract
and multi-year lows set the previous
week. Prices remained historically attractive to buyers, though.
While activity could not be characterized as brisk, a number of bread bakers booked outstanding components
to complete contracts for April-June. In
most instances, these bakers had futures
coverage for some time, and last week
they bit the bullet and booked basis and
millfeed credits to roll up the contracts.
Millfeed values for the second and third
quarters at wide discounts to the nearby
remained the principal impediment to
even more aggressive contracting.
Flour coverage for the second quarter
was about 60% to 70% with spring grade
users holding the most extensive coverage, soft flour users the least and pan
bread bakers in between. One miller noted coverage of the futures component of
second-quarter flour contracts was nearly solid. Another miller indicated scattered bakers flat-priced flour contracts
for the second and even third quarters
with the aim of avoiding "growing season craziness."
Some cookie-cracker and specialty
bakers extended soft flour coverage into
July. Soft flour users held less flour coverage than their bread-baking colleagues
because of a stubbornly strong cash soft
red winter wheat market in view of
the poor average quality of 2015 crop.

Bakery ﬂour

Millers cautioned there was no reason to
expect the soft wheat market to weaken
before new crop supply is available, and
there may be nothing gained from deferring coverage for the rest of the crop year.
At the same time, millers noted new crop
soft red winter wheat basis levels were at
wide discounts to the nearby even if still
higher than typical for the date.
Flour mill grind ranged from five to
six days across most of the country. MBN

Family Flour
Sales and shipments of national and
regional brands of family flour accelerated last week. Carlot list prices were
unchanged.
Orders increased as grocers sought
supply to stock shelves ahead of Easter,
a holiday that typically sees an increase
in home baking. Volume was said to
be about equal to that seen last year, or
even a bit larger in the case of private
label flour. Once Easter-related sales
subside, the family flour market was expected to enter its spring-summer doldrums, when home baking provides no
verve to the market and demand reverts
to the routine.
In the market for private label flour,
most buyers have covered their flour
needs through July. There was increased inquiry for new crop coverage,
and should wheat futures drop in the
neighborhood of recent contract lows,
manufacturers suggested some buyers
may opt to book a portion of their needs
through the end of 2016. MBN

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were limited last week.
Price adjustments were minor.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum as quoted at the Chicago gateway
for shipment beyond was $8.15 a bu, unchanged from the previous week and the
lowest since October 2010. The Minneapolis price was $7.85 a bu. Cash durum trading was lacking with mills taking timely
delivery of durum for application against
March contracts. These seemed to sustain
pipelines at comfortable levels. Offers of
Canadian durum were scarce, although
Canadian suppliers continued to execute
against contracts with individual U.S. durum mills. Canadian durum exports, particularly to North Africa, have been heavy
at points during this crop year, and tightening supply there may be a supportive
feature in coming weeks, but that certainly
was not the case last week.
Pasta manufacturers earlier covered
their semolina requirements through
June, and some have extended contract balances into July. Most held back
on booking semolina into the summer,
though, with spring planting not far off.
The Arizona durum crop was 70%
emerged by March 6 compared with 20%
as the recent average for the date. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$22.00
$20.00
$18.00
$16.00

No. 1 hard amber durum

$14.00

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

Track, Chicago
- Change from - Year
- Change from - Year $ per bu
March 11 March 4 Feb. 26 ago
March 11 March 4 Feb. 26 ago Choice milling 13% 8.15
-
-.10 12.00
13.85
13.75
12.00
...

0.30
0.30
-
...

0.55
0.55
-
...

15.65 Track, Minneapolis
15.55 $ per bu
13.00 Choice milling 13% 7.85
...

13.80
13.70
16.70
13.70
14.05
13.55
13.45
19.95

0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
-

0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.10

17.55
17.45
20.45
17.45
17.80
17.30
17.20
22.75

13.00
14.50

0.35
0.35

-
-

12.75
14.25

16.25
15.80
18.80
16.50
22.45

0.30
0.50
0.50
0.35
-

0.55
0.35
0.35
-
0.10

18.05
19.70
22.70
16.25
25.25

18.65
18.70

0.30
0.30

0.55
0.55

20.55
20.60

48 / March 15, 2016 XMilling & Baking News

$12.00
M

S
Previous Year

D
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-

-.10

11.70

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$28.00

Semolina

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
March 11 March 4 Feb. 26
Semolina
20.15
-
-.20
Granulars
19.95
-
-.20
Flour
19.85
-
-.20
First clear
16.00
...
...
Second clear 12.00
...
...
Semolina - N.Y. 22.95
-
-.20

$24.00

Year
ago
29.15
28.95
28.85
17.55
13.50
31.95

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

$20.00
$16.00
$12.00
M

S
Previous Year

D
Current Year

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

Dollars
March 11
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 15, 2016

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