Milling & Baking News - November 3, 2020 - 32

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were limited
last week, but some millers noted sales
ticked higher than a week earlier. One
characterized sales as catching up to the
normal pace for the date. Prices declined.
Mid-size commercial bakeries, distributors and ingredient manufacturers
were among customers layering in coverage last week, one miller said.
Component buying was more prevalent than flat-price coverage. Some
buyers regretted they had missed their
opportunity to lock in futures before a
remarkable rally sent prices soaring into
October. Several were motivated to do so
last week after futures declined to open
the week. By midweek, futures were
close to historical averages for the date.
Spring grade buyers have taken the
most coverage into 2021, millers said.
Many had futures contracted for the
first quarter, but basis coverage was
leading the way for first-half 2021, a
miller said. Millfeed credit coverage
was typical for the first quarter but tapered off sharply after March.
Cookie-cracker and specialty bakers
took the least coverage during the week.
"People who have accepted higher
prices are taking coverage because there's
no carry in soft wheat with Chicago futures inverted," one miller said. "If you're
a buyer with autonomy, it's scary, if you're
a buyer with less autonomy, it's even scarier because the former can wait awhile
longer, but those requiring a disciplined
coverage model have a real problem, thus

Bakery ﬂour
Oct. 30

32 / November 3, 2020

Family Flour
Typical week-over-week seasonal increases in sales and shipments of national and regional brands of family flour
were the rule last week. Carlot list prices
were unchanged.
Flour manufacturers said shipments
through last week were similar to a year
ago. Packaging lines continued to run
24/7. Plants with the capacity to build
inventory expected to begin drawing
down supply in the first week of November. Still to be seen were the effects
of the enduring coronavirus pandemic
on holiday season sales.
"That's the big question," a Great
Plains flour manufacturer said. "We're
going to ramp up normally, but will we
do extra with COVID? That possibility
is there with cases spiking around the
country. Most customers are expecting
some increases due to the COVID scare."
Family flour was being promoted in
some supermarkets at $2.49 for a 5-lb bag
of branded flour. That wasn't considered

No. 1 hard amber durum

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

some mild panic buying of futures."
For the current quarter, coverage for all
grades continued to tick higher to about
90% to 95% as month-to-month buyers
locked down fall needs. For the first quarter of 2021, coverage estimates ranged
from 33% to 60% for pan-bread flour, 37%
to 70% for spring grades and 8% to 50%
for soft flour. Millers said second-quarter
coverage estimates ranged from 15%
to 25% for pan-bread flour and spring
grades and 10% to 20% for soft flour. MBN

- Change from - Year
Oct. 23 Oct. 16 ago

Track, Chicago
$ per bu
Oct. 30
Choice milling 13% 8.15

-0.55
-0.55
-
...

-0.35
-0.35
-
...

14.10
14.00
8.85
...

Track, Minneapolis
$ per bu

14.85
14.75
15.75
14.75
15.10
14.60
14.50
19.25

-1.00
-1.00
-1.00
-1.00
-1.00
-1.00
-1.00
0.20

0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.25

15.55
15.45
16.45
15.45
15.80
15.30
15.20
19.35

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
Oct. 30 Oct. 23 Oct. 16
Semolina
19.30
+.25
+.30
Granulars
19.10
+.25
+.30
Flour
19.00
+.25
+.30
First clear
14.00
-
-
Second clear
7.00
-
-
Semolina - N.Y. 22.50
+.25
+.30

15.25
16.75

-0.65
-0.65

-0.30
-0.30

14.05
15.55

17.90
16.95
17.95
18.75
21.75

-0.55
-1.05
-1.05
-0.65
0.20

-0.35
-0.45
-0.45
-0.30
0.25

16.50
17.55
18.55
17.55
21.85

20.30
20.35

-0.55
-0.55

-0.35
-0.35

18.70
18.75

Milling & Baking News

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, durum flour
and granulars increased last week. Durum mill runtimes averaged about 5½
days to accommodate orders millers
characterized as "strong, but not robust."
The price of choice milling hard amber durum as quoted at the Chicago rail
gateway for delivery beyond was $8.15 a
bu, up 5¢ from a week earlier.
"Farmer durum selling is just nonexistent," a durum miller said. "Up until
two days ago, prices of corn and soybeans and all the other commodities had
turned higher, and durum hadn't done
anything since harvest."
Pasta makers advanced their semolina
coverage to between 45% and 65% for
the first quarter, millers said. There was
no one particular impetus that caused
them to buy. But a variety of factors may
have influenced them, including the 2020
durum crop being stowed away after a
speedy harvest, escalating freight costs
and availability amid row crop harvests,
and a fair amount of month-over-month
strength in the price of other grains. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, per cwt
$17.00
$15.50
$14.00

- Change from - Year
Oct. 23 Oct. 16 ago
+.05
+.05 8.75

15.50
15.40
8.85
...

Choice milling 13% 7.85

an aggressive price compared with the
same product found at mass merchandisers for $2.08. Promotions were expected
to ramp up in November. MBN

$12.50
N

Previous Year

A
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
+.05

+.05

8.45

Semolina

$19.00
$17.00

Year
ago
20.85
20.65
20.55
14.00
7.00
24.05

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

$15.00
$13.00
$11.00
N

Previous Year

A
Current Year

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

Dollars
Oct. 30
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
N

F
Previous Year

A
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - November 3, 2020

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