Milling & Baking News - January 1, 2019 - 32

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were limited
last week with most bakers out of their
offices because of the Christmas break.
Prices were unchanged to lower.
Individual bakers attracted by declining wheat futures (Minneapolis futures
set new contract lows) called millers to
put in open buy orders for futures. In
some cases, the buy orders were triggered
as targeted values were reached. Spring
grade users were the most active in this
regard with some futures coverage as far
forward as September 2019 indicated.
Other business included a few bakers
wrapping up additional first-quarter flour
contracts by covering outstanding components. Millers expected that with JanuaryMarch coverage filling in, bakers in the next
couple of weeks will begin to book supply
more aggressively into the second quarter.
Flour distributors, particularly in the
Northeast, were active after the holiday
booking what supply they required to
keep contract balances extended two to
four weeks.
One miller indicated his flour customers' coverage for January-March was
about 80%. Second-quarter coverage
ranged from 50% to 75% depending on
the buyer and the grade. Cookie-cracker
and specialty bakers held the most extensive coverage for April-June with
coverage of most bakers buying flour
milled from hard wheats at about 50%.
Average soft flour coverage was ahead
by a few percentage points.
Mill grind was reduced during the

Bakery ﬂour

Family Flour
Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour were light last week. Carlot list prices were unchanged.
Christmas marked the end of the 2018
fall baking season. Orders slowed to
a snail's pace as grocers a week earlier
took delivery of final shipments to stock
shelves for holiday bakers.
With the baking season concluded,
business was expected to quickly revert
to the routine.
Manufacturers suggested once a full
accounting is made, sales volume this
baking season may be similar to that
seen a year ago, for some manufacturers
a bit stronger and others a bit weaker. A
steady volume would be acceptable in a
market that historically has seen lower
year-over-year sales as consumers continue to opt for convenience foods. MBN

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were light last week with
most buyers out of offices for the Christmas break. Prices were unchanged.
Pasta manufacturers were positioned
to enjoy the holidays having covered
nearly all January-March semolina
needs and most of their second-quarter
requirements. For the first quarter, the
business yet to be done was with the
small customer base that typically buys
month to month; overall coverage was

No. 1 hard amber durum

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
- Change from - Year
Dec. 28 Dec. 21 Dec. 14 ago
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
32 / January 1, 2019

holiday week and ranged from three to
five days. MBN

Track, Chicago
$ per bu
Dec. 28
Choice milling 13% 7.35

-
-
-
...

-0.40
-0.40
-
...

15.40
15.30
8.85
...

Track, Minneapolis
$ per bu

14.40
14.30
15.30
14.30
14.65
14.15
14.05
20.30

-0.25
-0.25
-0.25
-0.25
-0.25
-0.25
-0.25
-

-1.05
-1.05
-1.05
-1.05
-1.05
-1.05
-1.05
-0.25

16.75
16.65
19.65
16.65
17.00
16.50
16.40
14.15

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
Dec. 28 Dec. 21 Dec. 14
Semolina
17.10
-
-.20
Granulars
16.90
-
-.20
Flour
16.80
-
-.20
First clear
13.50
-
-
Second clear
7.50
-
-
Semolina - N.Y. 20.30
-
-.20

12.95
14.45

-0.05
-0.05

-0.60
-0.60

11.55
13.05

17.30
16.70
17.70
16.45
22.80

-
-0.25
-0.25
-0.05
-

-0.40
-0.85
-0.85
-0.60
-0.25

17.80
18.80
21.80
15.05
16.65

19.50
19.55

-
-

-0.40
-0.40

20.40
20.45

Milling & Baking News

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$19.00
$17.00
$15.00
$13.00

- Change from - Year
Dec. 21 Dec. 14 ago
-
-
8.75

14.90
14.80
8.85
...

Choice milling 13% 7.05

estimated at about 90%. Second-quarter
coverage was estimated at nearly 80%
completed.
Carrying charges in the durum market were not so wide as to discourage
extensive coverage at price levels that
remained attractive.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on
Dec. 20 forecast 2018-19 Canadian durum ending stocks at 2,000,000 tonnes,
up 100,000 tonnes from the November
projection and up 35% from 1,477,000
tonnes in 2017-18. A.A.F.C. increased its
estimate of 2018 durum production by
39,000 tonnes to 5,745,000 tonnes, based
on the most recent Statistics Canada estimate issued earlier in December. Canadian durum exports in 2018-19 were forecast at 4,200,000 tonnes, down 100,000
tonnes from November and down 4%
from 4,387,000 tonnes in 2017-18.
A.A.F.C. said that the Canadian export
forecast was lowered "based on slowerthan-expected exports for the first four
months of the crop year and expectations
that the low prices will result in higher
producer carryout stocks and significantly lower seeded area for 2019-20."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's
current forecast for U.S. 2018-19 durum
imports, mostly from Canada, was 51
million bus, the same as in 2017-18. MBN

$11.00
D

Previous Year

S
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-

8.45

Semolina

$22.00
$20.00

Year
ago
21.25
21.05
20.95
15.50
8.50
24.45

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

$18.00
$16.00
$14.00
$12.00
D

Previous Year

S
Current Year

Cracker ﬂour, Chicago
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$15.50

Dollars
Dec. 28
Family patent, 2-25s papers 24.12
4-10s
n.a.
8-5s
18.52
18-2s
20.64
Self-rising
n.a.

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

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

$13.50
$11.50
$9.50
D

M
Previous Year

S
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - January 1, 2019

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