Milling & Baking News - May 21, 2019 - 42

Data

First-quarter whole wheat flour
production slumps to new low
WASHINGTON - Whole wheat flour
production tumbled in the first quarter of
2018, according to data issued May 1 by
the National Agricultural Statistics Service
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
At 4,809,000 cwts, production of whole
wheat flour was down 902,000 cwts, or
16%, from 5,711,000 cwts in the first quarter
of 2018. Production was down 6.3% from
5,531,000 cwts in the fourth quarter of 2018.
At 4,809,000 cwts, first-quarter flour
production was the lowest since NASS

Whole wheat flour production
(1,000 cwts)

6,500
6,000
5,500
5,000
4,500
2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S.D.A.

Whole wheat flour production
Production figures in 1,000 cwts
Whole wheat flour production
Change from year earlier
Trailing four-quarter average
Share of total flour production

Jan.-Mar.
2019
4,809
-15.8%
21,441
4.6%

Oct.-Dec.
2018
5,531
-3.6%
22,343
5.3%

July-Sept.
2018
5,715
1.5%
22,549
5.4%

Apr.-June
2018
5,386
0.7%
22,466
5.1%

Jan.-Mar.
2018
5,711
-1.5%
22,430
5.4%

Whole wheat semolina production
Change from year earlier
Share of total semolina production

150
-16.2%
2.0%

160
31.1%
2.1%

Whole wheat flour ex-semolina
Change from year earlier
Share of ex-semolina production

4,659
-15.8%
4.9%

5,371
-4.3%
5.4%

135
-30.4%
1.8%

130
4.0%
1.7%

179
7.8%
2.4%

122
-33.7%
1.5%

5,580
2.6%
5.6%

5,256
0.6%
5.4%

5,532
-1.8%
5.7%

5,615
7.4%
5.6%

Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S.D.A.

Oct.-Dec.
2017
5,737
6.0%
22,519
5.3%

began tracking quarterly whole wheat
flour production in 2014. It was the first
time production fell below 5 million
cwts in a quarter. The previous low was
5,140,000 cwts in the first quarter of 2014.
The record high for a quarter was 6,326,000
cwts in the third quarter of 2015.
Whether whole wheat flour production
will rebound in the coming quarters remains to be seen, but the first quarter has
not been the weakest in most years. Instead,
second-quarter production was the lowest
for the year in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Also at a new low in the first quarter
of 2019 was whole wheat's share of total
flour production. At 4.6%, whole wheat's
share of the wheat flour market was
down from 5.4% in the first quarter of
2018 and 5.3% in the fourth quarter.
Whole wheat semolina production in January-March 2019 was 150,000 cwts, down
29,000 cwts, or 16%, from 179,000 cwts in
the same period in 2018. Production was
down 10,000 cwts, or 6%, from the fourth
quarter of 2018. Still, the semolina figure
was not a new low. Semolina production
has been highly volatile from one quarter to
the next, slumping as low as 122,000 cwts in
the past two years and beneath 150,000 cwts
four times over that period.
Whole wheat semolina accounted for
2% of all semolina production in the first
quarter, down from 2.4% in the first quarter of 2018 but unchanged from the final
quarter of last year. MBN

Consumer Price Index for baked foods
and cereals declines 0.3% in April
WASHINGTON - The Consumer Price Index for baked foods and cereal
products fell 0.3% in April, its first month-over-month decline since October 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor. The index for all food at home also eased, decreasing 0.3%.
The April index for Cereals and Bakery Products before seasonal adjustment was 276.6% of the 1982-84 average, up 1.7% from a year ago.
For all food at home, the April index was 241.9, up 0.7% from April 2018.
The C.P.I. for cereals and cereal products in April was 228.7, down 0.7%
from March but up 0.7% from April 2018. The index for products within
this category included: flour and prepared mixes, 236, down 0.7% from
March and down 2% from the previous year; breakfast cereal, 224.1, down
0.1% from the previous month but up 1.5% from a year ago; and rice, pasta
and corn meal, 237.9, down 1.4% from March but up 0.5% from April 2018.
The price index for bakery products in April was 304.2, unchanged
from March but up 2.2% from April 2018.
The April index for bread was 184.4, up 0.7% from March and up 3.8%
from April 2018. Under this heading, the C.P.I. for white bread was 333.9, up
1.2% from March and up 4.3% from April 2018. For bread other than white,
the index was 359.1, down 0.1% from March but up 4% from a year ago.
The price index for fresh biscuits, rolls and muffins in April was
179.4, down 1.5% from March but up 1.4% from April 2018. The April
index for cakes, cupcakes and cookies was 290.3, up 0.1% from March
and up 1.8% from April 2018.
The C.P.I. for other bakery products in April was 269, down 0.1% from
March but up 1.7% from April 2018. MBN
42 / May 21, 2019

Milling & Baking News

Consumer Price Index for Cereal
and Bakery Products
(1982-84=100)

All cereal and bakery products
U.S. average
All Bakery Products
Bread*
White bread
Bread other than white
Fresh biscuits, rolls and muffins*
Cakes, cupcakes and cookies
Fresh cakes and cupcakes
Cookies
Other bakery products
Fresh sweet rolls, coffee cakes and donuts
Crackers and cracker products
Frozen and refrigerated bakery products
All Cereals, Cereal Products
All-purpose flour, mixes
Breakfast cereals
Rice, pasta, corn meal

April
2019

March
2019

276.6
304.2
184.4
333.9
359.1
179.4
290.3
317.8
269.3
269.0
310.5
301.8
272.5
228.7
236.0
224.1
237.9

277.3
304.2
183.1
330.0
359.6
182.2
290.0
317.9
268.7
269.3
311.2
303.6
271.1
230.3
237.7
224.2
241.4

*December 1997 base.

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - May 21, 2019

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