Milling & Baking News - February 12, 2019 - 40

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were very slow
last week in part as buyers awaited price
direction from a bevy of U.S. Department
of Agriculture data on Feb. 8. Prices were
mixed with hard and soft winter grades
slightly lower but spring grades higher on
a bounce in the cash spring wheat basis.
The basis for hard and soft winter wheat
was little changed with a firm tone.
Millers said there has been some recent
weather-related downtime at bakeries and
that bakers appeared to be running at a bit
slower-than-average pace in general. One
miller indicated forward flour coverage
was a couple of weeks behind last year.
Activity has been subdued most of the
calendar year to date, but last week was
exceptionally slow, according to millers,
who in some cases were perplexed that
bakers weren't adding to contract balances, especially the futures component
of contracts when futures tumbled last
Thursday. Many flour buyers weeks ago
took extended futures coverage. At the
same time, millers suggested there may
be more upside than downside to futures,
especially if exports pick up as expected.
Most interest was in basis coverage,
but even additions of that component
were slim last week. Basis coverage was
estimated at 80% to 90% for the first
quarter, 50% to 60% for the second and
about 25% for the third.
Coverage of the millfeed component
also was slow with sales to end users
very light and mostly hand-to-mouth
despite recent cold weather.

Bakery ﬂour
Feb. 8

40 / February 12, 2019

Family Flour
Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour remained slow. Carlot list
prices were unchanged.
Orders and shipments were routine,
although there should be an increase in
movement a few weeks prior to Easter.
Manufacturers said the traditional bump
for family flour sales in recent years was
nowhere nearly as large as it was in former years but nevertheless was welcome.
Private label flour buyers, including
club stores and other mass merchandisers as well as grocery chains, have covered nearly all their flour requirements
through March. One manufacturer indicated flour coverage for about 50% of his
customer base was through July. MBN

Semolina

- Change from - Year
Feb. 1
Jan. 25 ago

Track, Chicago
$ per bu
Feb. 8
Choice milling 13% 7.35

-0.10
-0.10
-
...

15.35 Track, Minneapolis
15.25 $ per bu
8.85 Choice milling 13% 7.05
...

16.70
16.60
17.60
16.60
16.95
16.45
16.35
22.20

0.30
0.30
0.30
0.30
0.30
0.30
0.30
-

0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.55
0.65

14.05
15.55

-0.15
-0.15

-0.05
0.25

17.85
18.65
19.65
17.55
24.70

-0.10
0.05
0.05
-0.15
-

-0.10
0.30
0.30
-0.05
0.65

16.45 Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from - Year
16.35
Feb. 8
Feb. 1 Jan. 25
ago
19.35
17.95
-
-
20.30
16.35 Semolina
17.75
-
-
20.10
16.70 Granulars
17.65
-
-
20.00
16.20 Flour
13.50
-
-
15.50
16.10 First clear
7.50
-
-
8.50
14.00 Second clear
Semolina - N.Y. 21.15
-
-
23.50
12.15
Nationally advertised family ﬂour
13.65
Dollars
Feb. 8
Year ago
17.75
Family patent, 2-25s papers 24.12
24.12
18.75
4-10s
n.a.
n.a.
21.75
8-5s
18.52
18.52
15.65
18-2s
20.64
20.64
16.50
Self-rising
n.a.
n.a.

20.05
20.10

-0.10
-0.10

Milling & Baking News

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

$15.00
$13.00

- Change from - Year
Feb. 1 Jan. 25 ago
-
-
8.40

15.45
15.35
8.85
...

$11.00
F

Previous Year

N
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-

8.10

Semolina

20.35
20.40

durum flour again were limited last
week. Price adjustments were minor.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum as quoted at the Chicago rail gateway for delivery beyond was a nominal
$7.35 a bu. The Minneapolis price was a
nominal $7.05 a bu. Prices have been unchanged since mid-December and were
$1.15 a bu below year-ago levels, although
some firmness was noted in deferred pricing due to recent export business.
The primary constraint on new business in semolina was the well-covered
status of most pasta manufacturers who
earlier covered their needs through the
first quarter of 2019. April-June coverage was estimated at 85% of prospective
needs, and third-quarter coverage was
at about 75%. Semolina coverage for the
date was historically extensive.
Winter durum seedings in Arizona and
California were estimated at 88,000 acres,
down 21% from 2018 and down 30% from
2017, the U.S.D.A. said. Arizona area at
45,000 acres was down 37% while California area at 43,000 acres was up 8%.
Dec. 1, 2018, durum stocks in all positions were estimated by the U.S.D.A. at
83,613,000 bus, up 49% from a year earlier. September-November indicated disappearance of 6.45 million bus was down
36% from the same period in 2017. MBN

$17.00

Bookings of semolina, granulars and

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

Users of all grades of flour earlier
covered nearly all their needs through
March, and there was little change in total coverage amid last week's slow trading. April-June coverage was estimated
at 50% for both pan bread flour and
spring grades and at about 65% for soft
flour users. Third-quarter pan bread flour
and soft flour coverage was estimated at
about 10% and spring grades at about 5%.
Distributors, mostly in the Northeast,
booked supply to keep contract balances
extended about two weeks.
Mill grind ranged from 4½ to 6 days last
week with scattered, often weather-related
downtime a factor in some regions. MBN

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$22.00
$20.00
$18.00
$16.00
$14.00
$12.00
F

Previous Year

N
Current Year

Cracker ﬂour, Chicago
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$15.50
$13.50
$11.50
$9.50
F

M
Previous Year

N
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - February 12, 2019

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