Milling & Baking News - May 7, 2019 - 48

Ingredient Week
Bakery Flour

Business in bakery flour was limited
last week. Price adjustments were mixed
with soft flour and pan bread flour pricing lowered while spring standard patent prices were raised.
Individual bakers covered the futures
component of flour contracts for the fourth
quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of
2020. There was significant additional inquiry for futures into 2020 with some bakers setting targets to trigger coverage.
Millers pointed to some flat booking
of spring grades for the fourth quarter,
but otherwise, such booking was light.
A major obstacle to bakers wrapping
up additional contracts for the third and
fourth quarters was the cash wheat basis, which flour buyers hoped would
break as the wheat harvest approaches.
Millfeed credits also were off-putting
with prices sharply below year-ago values.
Flour distributors were less active than
during the previous couple of weeks.
One miller indicated bakers already
have covered nearly all their May-June
flour requirements. Pan bread flour coverage in July-September was estimated at
about 75% while spring grades and soft
flour coverage was between 40% and 45%.
Fourth-quarter flour coverage was about
50% in the case of pan bread flour and
about 25% for spring grades and soft flour.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
indicated that all-wheat ground for flour
during the first quarter of 2019 totaled 223
million bus, down 4% from the fourthquarter 2018 grind at 232 million bus and

Bakery flour

Family Flour

Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour were routine last week.
Carlot list prices were unchanged.
Most manufacturers expected business to be seasonally sluggish for the
next several weeks. Activity typically
begins to pick up in late June and July
as some mills begin to prepackage flour
ahead of the fall baking season.
In the market for private label flour,
club stores and mass merchandisers
as well as grocery chains have covered
their flour needs through July. Thirdquarter 2019 coverage was estimated
at 50% with fourth-quarter coverage at
about 30%. One manufacturer noted individual buyers have extended coverage
through January 2020. MBN

Semolina

Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were light last week. Prices
were lowered slightly.
The price of choice milling hard amber durum as quoted at the Chicago rail
gateway for delivery beyond was a nominal $7.20 a bu, down 5c from the previous week. The Minneapolis price was
lowered to a nominal $6.90 a bu.

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
48 / May 7, 2019

down 2% from the first-quarter 2018 grind
at 227 million bus. First-quarter flour production was 104 million cwts, down 4%
from the fourth quarter of 2018 and down
2% from the first quarter of 2018.
Flour grind last week ranged widely
from 4½ to 6 days. MBN

May 3

- Change from - Year
Apr. 26 Apr. 18 ago

Track, Chicago
$ per bu
May 3
Choice milling 13% 7.20

-0.10
-0.10
-
...

-0.60
-0.60
-
...

16.90
16.80
8.85
...

Track, Minneapolis
$ per bu

14.05
13.95
14.95
13.95
14.30
13.80
13.70
22.40

0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
-

-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
-0.70
0.05

17.80
17.70
20.70
17.70
18.05
17.55
17.45
13.90

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
May 3
Apr. 26 Apr. 18
Semolina
17.70
-.10
-.20
Granulars
17.50
-.10
-.20
Flour
17.40
-.10
-.20
First clear
14.50
+1.50
+1.50
Second clear
8.00
+.50
+.50
Semolina - N.Y. 20.90
-.10
-.20

12.25
13.75

-0.15
-0.15

-0.30
-0.30

13.50
15.00

16.25
15.95
16.95
15.75
24.90

-0.10
0.15
0.15
-0.15
-

-0.60
-0.50
-0.50
-0.30
0.05

19.30
19.90
22.90
17.00
16.40

18.45
18.50

-0.10
-0.10

-0.60
-0.60

21.70
21.75

Milling & Baking News

$18.50
$16.50

$12.50
M

Previous Year

F
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-.05

-.10

7.90

Semolina

May 3
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
$22.00
$20.00

Year
ago
19.75
19.55
19.45
15.50
8.50
22.95

Nationally advertised family flour
Dollars

Bakers standard, Kansas City

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

$14.50

- Change from - Year
Apr. 26 Apr. 18 ago
-.05
-.10
8.20

13.85
13.75
8.85
...

Choice milling 13% 6.90

The cash durum market remained
inactive with durum mills sustaining
grind by drawing on their own inventories and taking delivery of supply purchased earlier.
Pasta manufacturers earlier booked
about 90% of their requirements through
June. Third-quarter coverage was estimated at 80%, and October-December
coverage was estimated at about 40%.
Durum planting began in the northern Plains. The U.S.D.A. indicated 4%
of North Dakota durum was planted by
April 28 compared with 1% a year ago
and 7% as the five-year average for the
date. The Montana durum crop was 13%
planted compared with 1% a year earlier
and 16% as the five-year average.
The Arizona durum crop was 91%
headed by April 28 compared with 89%
a year ago and 71% as the recent fiveyear average for the date.
The U.S.D.A. indicated durum
ground for flour and semolina during
the first quarter of 2019 totaled 16.5
million bus, down 6% from the fourth
quarter of 2018 and down 4% from the
first quarter of 2018. First-quarter 2019
durum flour and semolina production
was 7.90 million cwts, down 5% from
the fourth quarter of 2018 and down 3%
from the first quarter of 2018. MBN

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

$18.00
$16.00
$14.00
$12.00
M

N
Previous Year

F
Current Year

Cracker flour, Chicago

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$15.00
$13.50
$12.00
$10.50
M

A
Previous Year

F
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - May 7, 2019

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