Food Business News - January 3, 2012 - 34

Ingredient Markets
Market commentary for one-week period ended December 30, 2011

Sweeteners
Sugar prices continued to soften in a mostly inactive holiday market. The corn sweetener market also was quiet with most business for 2012 completed earlier. Prices of bulk reﬁned sugar again were weaker with offers mostly at 52@57c a lb f.o.b. for spot through Dec. 31, 2012. Domestic beet sugar was available as low as 51@52c a lb f.o.b. with some cane offers supporting the top end of the price range. What little trading occurred was at the low end of the price range, traders said. Supply was available in all areas, but buyers were in no rush to add to 2012 coverage. Talk about 2013 pricing again surfaced. Mexican supply was available around the 50c-a-lb level delivered into the United States. Domestic prices in Mexico declined about 5% since late November and about 15% since late October, coinciding with the beginning of cane harvest in early November. Traders said the increased sugar supply in Mexico, and corresponding lower prices there, may be a pressuring factor on U.S. reﬁned sugar prices. Beet piles in the Red River valley were in good shape despite unseasonably warm weather in the region. Corn sweetener contracting for 2012 was mostly completed weeks ago. Dextrose values for next year were up about $4 a cwt from 2011 contracted levels. Most 2012 contracts for liquid corn sweeteners, including 42% high-fructose corn syrup and regular corn syrup, were completed at an average of $2 a

cwt above 2011 levels. Price advances for 55% HFCS were at higher levels than for 42% due to tighter supplies and strong demand. New York domestic raw sugar futures (No. 16) and world sugar futures (No. 11) eased in thin holiday volume last week. Domestic raws ended at 36.25c a lb for most 2012 contracts and near 34c for 2013 contracts. World futures ended around 23c a lb across all trading periods. Compared with values at the end of 2010, bulk reﬁned beet sugar prices were down about 5c a lb on the low end of the price range, with most of the decline taking place in December as values sank to their lowest level since June 2010 last week. Domestic raw sugar futures prices ended the year about 3c a lb below year-ago values (on a continuous nearby basis) while New York world sugar futures ended the year down about 8c a lb. World futures were down over 30% from highs earlier in the year and were likely to be the third worst performing commodity future in 2011, according to a trade report. FBN

Edible Oils
Bookings of edible oils were lacking last week. Price changes were mixed. Soybean oil prices advanced. Soybean oil futures prices continued to rise after the wide gains registered the previous week. The entire soy complex derived strength from concerns over an expanding area of dryness in South American soybean areas,

particularly in Argentina, where planting was nearly completed. It was thought analysts may begin to trim their forecasts for soybean production in that country. The cash basis on soybean oil was slightly weaker. A bearish consideration with regard to the cash basis on soybean oil was the expiration of the biodiesel sector’s $1-per-gallon blender’s credit on Jan. 1, 2012. Buyers reasoned this should pressure the basis in coming weeks. At the same time, merchandisers cautioned buyers not to except a collapse in the cash basis, pointing to poor reﬁner margins and National Oilseed Processors Association survey data indicating a lower-thanexpected yield of oil per bushel crushed. With activity nearly nil between the holiday weekends, estimates of industry basis coverage for January-March 2012 averaged an unusually tight 35%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture indicated net export sales of U.S. soybean oil during the week ended Dec. 22 totaled 2,300 tonnes with Nicaragua, Mexico and Canada the principal buyers. Palm oil prices advanced. Palm oil tended to follow the U.S. soybean oil market. But also providing a boost to palm oil pricing was stormy weather across Malaysia that interrupted harvesting and reduced production in that country. Reﬁned canola oil continued to be offered at about 5c a lb over soybean oil futures in the Midwest. Crude canola oil was offered at a discount to soybean oil. FBN

Beet and cane sugar
f.o.b. plant, cents per lb

Sweeteners
Delivered basis, cents per lb HFCS spot price1

HFCS list price2 Regular — Change from — Year corn Dec. 30 Dec. 23 Dec. 16 ago syrup3 Dextrose 42% HFCS wet 55% HFCS wet Dec. 30 Year ago Midwest beet 52.00 @ 55.00 -1.00 -3.00 57.00 21.375 24.875 net 153/8@ 193/8 153/8@ 193/8 29.85@33.85 24.625 East Paciﬁc beet 52.00 @ 55.00 -1.00 -3.00 57.00 Midwest 22.925 26.425 net 28.85@32.85 26.175 Midwest Cane* 53.00 @ 57.00 -2.00 -2.00 57.00 Northeast 16¾@ 20¾ 16¾@ 20¾ 23.125 26.625 net *Spot raw plus 7% plus 13.2c with 2% cash discount. Southeast 167/8@ 207/8 167/8@ 207/8 31.85@35.85 26.375 West 22.625 26.125 net Southwest 16½@ 20½ 16½@ 20½ 25.875 Raw cane 23.325 26.825 net West 173/8@ 213/8 173/8@ 213/8 26.575 Delivered reﬁner, cents per lb 1-Variations in prices often tied to tank car versus truck deliveries. 2-Prices are the lowest available to the publication. 3-Regular 42 DE/43 Baume, f.o.b. tank cars, trucks Contract Nearby January-March April-June July-September October-December January-March — Change from — Dec. 30 Dec. 23 Dec. 16 36.25 +.10 +.30 36.25 +.10 +.30 36.25 -.25 -.25 36.25 -.35 -.85 36.00 -.50 -.50 34.15 — -.15 Year ago 39.00 39.00 39.60 39.80 34.00 34.00

Chicago soybean oil futures
Bulk in tank cars, cents per lb Dec. 30 — Change from — Delivery close Dec. 23 Dec. 16 January 52.09 +1.13 +2.54 March 52.42 +1.05 +2.49 May 52.78 +1.05 +2.47 July 53.05 +1.03 +2.43 August 53.10 +1.03 +2.42 September 53.11 +1.01 +2.40 Year ago 57.74 58.37 58.74 58.82 58.70 58.55

Edible oils
Bulk, cents per lb — Change from — Year Dec. 30 Dec. 23 Dec. 16 ago Soybean oil, Decatur Loose lard, Chicago Edible tallow, Chicago Cottonseed oil, Miss. PBSY Palm oil, ports Palm kernel oil, ports Coconut oil Peanut oil, Southeast Corn oil, Decatur Sunﬂowerseed oil, Midwest Canola oil, Midwest 51.75 49.00 50.75 53.50 50.75 51.50 64.00 95.25 53.75 91.00 57.00 +.75 -.75 — +1.25 +.50 — +1.00 — — — +1.00 +2.25 54.75 -.50 -.25 39.50 45.00

Spot soybean oil
Decatur, Ill., bulk cents per lb
63.00 53.00 43.00 33.00 23.00 D M J
Previous Year

Crude soybean oil
Bulk in tank cars, cents per lb Delivery Decatur, Ill. December 51.59 @51.84 January 51.59 @51.84 February 51.76 @52.01 March 51.92 @52.17 April 52.35 @52.60 May 52.53 @52.78 June 50.80 @51.05 Western points 51.09 @51.34 51.09 @51.34 51.26 @51.51 51.42 @51.67 51.85 @52.10 52.03 @52.28 50.30 @50.55

+3.75 56.50 +.75 60.25 -2.00 +1.00 +.25 -.50 64.50 89.00 79.00 58.00

S
Current Year

— 68.50 +2.50 61.00

FOODBUSINESS NEWS

January 3, 2012

Food Business News - January 3, 2012

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