Milling & Baking News - August 15, 2017 - 32

Ingredient Week X

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were limited
last week. Prices were lowered.
Activity in bakery flour was mostly
quiet ahead of the release on Aug. 10 by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture of its
Crop Production and World Agricultural
Supply and Demand Estimates reports.
Those reports were viewed as bearish
to wheat as all-wheat and other-spring
wheat crop estimates were lowered less
than what the trade had expected.
Many bakers earlier covered the futures component of flour contracts for the
fourth quarter with some coverage, especially on the part of spring grade users,
extending into the first and even second
quarters of 2018. The downturn in futures
in the wake of the U.S.D.A. reports encouraged additional such activity.
With futures coverage already fairly
well extended, though, increasingly bakers were exploring extending basis coverage through the end of 2017 and into 2018.
Millers pointed out that cash spring wheat
and cash hard red winter wheat premiums
were at historically good values and suggested there may be more upside risk in
first-half 2018 basis values than in futures.
Indications were individual spring
grade users have heeded this advice
and have covered spring wheat basis
through the first half of 2018. Some bakers were considering doing the same
with the hard red winter wheat basis.
Meanwhile, flour coverage for October-December expanded to about 55%.
Coverage was slightly more extensive in

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

spring grades and soft flour than in pan
bread flour, said one miller.
Millfeed continued to be the laggard
with bakers seeing little advantage to
locking in millfeed credits until they were
ready to complete the flour contracts.
Mill grind ranged from 5½ to 6½ days
across most of the country. MBN

Family Flour
Sales of national and regional brands of
family flour were seasonally sluggish last
week. Carlot list prices were unchanged.
Manufacturers prepared to emerge from
the doldrums with sales and shipments expected to begin increasing after Labor Day,
by which time most schools will be back in
session. Activity should then begin to accelerate into the fall baking season.
Manufacturers of private label flour
indicated most of their buyers earlier covered all their flour needs through September, and coverage in the key fourth quarter was estimated at about 50%. MBN

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were limited last week.
Prices were lowered.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum as quoted at the Chicago gateway for delivery beyond was a nominal
$11 per bu, down 40c from the previous
week and the lowest since mid-July. The
Minneapolis price was $10.70 a bu.
Trading remained lacking, but ideas
were the recent retreat in prices of the
other wheat classes, particularly spring

wheat, suggested that cash durum,
when it trades, may trade lower as well.
Most mills have been able to sustain
operations even at a six-day grind with
their current inventories and durum being shipped against contracts.
Pasta manufacturers earlier covered all
their semolina needs through September.
Fourth-quarter semolina coverage was
estimated at about 65%. Last week, individual pasta makers extended contract
balances into the first quarter of 2018.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in
its weekly Crop Progress report indicated
North Dakota durum was 35% mature by
Aug. 6. Combining was under way, but
the U.S.D.A. had yet to provide a harvest
progress update. North Dakota durum
condition was rated 17% good, 51% fair
and 32% poor to very poor. The Montana
durum harvest was 20% completed by
Aug. 6 compared with 3% a week earlier.
The state's crop was in dire straits with its
condition rated by the U.S.D.A. at only 3%
good, 26% fair and 71% poor to very poor.
The U.S.D.A. on Aug. 10 estimated
durum production this year at 50,535,000
bus, down 12% from the July projection
and down 51% 104,116,000 bus in 2016.
The U.S.D.A. forecast the durum carryover on June 1, 2018, at 22 million bus
compared with 36 million bus in 2017. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$19.00
$17.00
$15.00

No. 1 hard amber durum
Track, Chicago
- Change from - Year $ per bu
Aug. 11
Aug. 11 Aug. 4
July 28 ago Choice milling 13% 11.00

- Change from - Year
Aug. 4 July 28 ago
-.40
-.75
7.75

$13.00
$11.00
A

F
Previous Year

14.45
14.35
8.85
...

-0.25
-0.25
-
...

-0.75
-0.75
-
...

12.65 Track, Minneapolis
12.55 $ per bu
11.00 Choice milling 13% 10.70
...

17.50
17.40
20.40
17.40
17.75
17.25
17.15
14.80

-0.95
-0.95
-0.95
-0.95
-0.95
-0.95
-0.95
0.05

-1.85
-1.85
-1.85
-1.85
-1.85
-1.85
-1.85
0.20

14.30
14.20
17.20
14.20
14.55
14.05
13.95
16.50

12.20
13.70

-0.30
-0.30

-0.80
-0.80

10.95
12.45

16.85
19.75
22.75
15.70
17.30

-0.25
-0.90
-0.90
-0.30
0.05

-0.75
-1.95
-1.95
-0.80
0.20

15.05
16.45
19.45
14.45
19.00

19.45
19.50

-0.25
-0.25

-0.75
-0.75

17.75
17.80

32 / August 15, 2017 XMilling & Baking News

M
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-.40

-.75

7.45

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$22.00

Semolina

$20.00

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
Aug. 11 Aug. 4 July 28
Semolina
27.30
-1.00
-1.75
Granulars
27.10
-1.00
-1.75
Flour
27.00
-1.00
-1.75
First clear
17.00
...
...
Second clear 10.00
...
...
Semolina - N.Y. 30.50
-1.00
-1.75

Year
ago
19.05
18.85
18.75

$18.00
$16.00
$14.00
$12.00
A

F
Previous Year

21.85

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

M
Current Year

Cracker ﬂour, Chicago
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$17.50

Dollars
Aug. 11
Family patent, 2-25s papers 24.12
4-10s
n.a.
8-5s
18.52
18-2s
20.64
Self-rising
n.a.

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

$15.50
$13.50
$11.50
$9.50
A

F
Previous Year

M
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - August 15, 2017

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