Milling & Baking News - October 6, 2020 - 32

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour
Bakery flour booking was active last
week. Flour prices were mixed. Average
flour mill grind declined to five days for
several reasons including maintenance,
repairs and uncertain fall flour demand.
Some bakers sought January-March
coverage before the third quarter ended at
midweek, an Upper Midwest miller said.
Most had a third to a half of first-quarter
needs booked by the week's end, he said.
"Buyers are dealing with increasing
costs for the first time in a long time," a
miller said. "Conversations shifted from
'you need to show me a lower price' to
'how can we mitigate the tilt northward.'"
Most business took place in the first half
of the week. After the US Department of
Agriculture lowered its wheat production
estimate and revealed grain stocks were
below expectations, wheat futures rallied,
some contracts to eight-month highs, and
flour sales activity declined.
"Nearby KC futures at $4.80 were really
hard for bakers to look at, now $5.09 is really hard for them to see," a miller said.
"People who took a percentage of coverage were disgruntled with it, but after the
rally, they felt really good about it. The
calendar may have saved a lot of people."
Coverage for flour milled from hard red
winter wheat and hard red spring wheat
for October-December still was estimated
at 90% with the remainder thought to follow in small bits and pieces or to come in
the spot market as distributors and others who prefer month-to-month buying
fill their needs. Soft flour coverage for

Bakery ﬂour

Family Flour
Seasonal demand increases continued
to boost sales and shipments of national
and regional brands of family flour. Carlot list prices were unchanged.
Flour manufacturers added shifts and
were running packing lines longer to
handle increased orders or to build inventory for the extended holiday push.
Family flour sales for the fourth quarter
were expected to be up 15% to 20% year
over year, a Mid-South miller said.
"I'm not sure how much of that is
home bakers trying to lay in stock, so
they don't get caught short," he said. "As
the weather turns colder, people won't
be dining outside at restaurants as much,
and perhaps eating at home more."
On supermarket shelves, early fall baking season promotions were in place. In
the Mid-South, regional brands in a 5-lb
package were $2. But 5-lb bags could be
found discounted to $1 after a wholesaler
contracted a brand unfamiliar to the region's consumers during the height of
pandemic shortages, the miller said. MBN

Semolina

Oct. 2
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

- Change from - Year
Sept. 25 Sept. 18 ago

Track, Chicago
$ per bu
Oct. 2
Choice milling 13% 8.10

0.65
0.65
-
...

-0.05
-0.05
-
...

13.50
13.40
8.85
...

Track, Minneapolis
$ per bu

15.05
14.95
15.95
14.95
15.30
14.80
14.70
19.10

-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.05
-0.25

-0.50
-0.50
-0.50
-0.50
-0.50
-0.50
-0.50
-0.25

13.90
13.80
14.80
13.80
14.15
13.65
13.55
19.70

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
Oct. 2
Sept. 25 Sept. 18
Semolina
19.05
-.20
-.20
Granulars
18.85
-.20
-.20
Flour
18.75
-.20
-.20
First clear
14.00
-
-
Second clear
7.00
-
-
Semolina - N.Y. 22.25
-.20
-.20

14.70
16.20

0.95
0.95

-
-

13.70
15.20

17.55
17.70
18.70
18.20
21.60

0.65
0.20
0.20
0.95
-0.25

-0.05
-0.40
-0.40
-
-0.25

15.90
15.85
16.85
17.20
22.20

19.95
20.00

0.65
0.65

-0.05
-0.05

18.10
18.15

Milling & Baking News

Bulk, f.o.b. car, per cwt
$17.00
$15.50
$14.00

- Change from - Year
Sept. 25 Sept. 18 ago
-
-
8.75

15.15
15.05
8.85
...

Choice milling 13% 7.80

durum as quoted at the Chicago rail gateway for delivery beyond was unchanged
at $8.10 a bu. The Minneapolis price was
$7.80 a bu.
Pasta manufacturers have booked
about 90% of their October-December
semolina requirements.
Semolina shipments were steady,
which kept durum mills grinding an average of six days last week, with at least
one Midwest location "running seven
days for the first time in ages, and it
looks solid going forward," a miller said.
Driving the brisk pace was many pasta
makers ramping up production of long
goods, such as spaghetti and linguini.
The durum harvest was essentially
completed and mostly graded Nos. 1 or 2
hard amber durum. Supplies were not as
readily available, having been channeled
to on-farm storage or elevators. The harvested crop was in manageable positions
for now, not yet fully under wraps for the
winter. Fewer producers were attempting
to funnel durum to mills.
"If somebody has some trucks to offer,
we see if we can make room for them,
but it's certainly a less hectic pace than
one or two weeks ago," a miller said.
Last week's rallies in grain futures generated "a little more interest in what's going on out there," a durum miller said. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City

Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour continued to perk up last
week. Prices were steady.
The price of choice milling hard amber

No. 1 hard amber durum

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

32 / October 6, 2020

the period remained at about 80%. For
January-March, estimates ranged widely.
Pan-bread flour and spring grade flour
coverage was 25% to 55% with soft flour
coverage between 20% and 40%. MBN

$12.50
O

Previous Year

J
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-

8.45

Semolina

$19.00
$17.00

Year
ago
21.10
20.90
20.80
14.00
7.00
24.30

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

$15.00
$13.00
$11.00
O

Previous Year

J
Current Year

Cracker ﬂour, Chicago
Bulk, f.o.b. car, per cwt
$16.20

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

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

Year ago
24.12
...
18.52
20.64
...

$15.20
$14.20
$13.20
$12.20
$11.20
O

J
Previous Year

J
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - October 6, 2020

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