Food Business News - May 7, 2013 - 53

Ingredient Markets
Market commentary for one-week period ended May 3, 2013

Soy Products
Soy flour prices gained ground last week,
following the volatile but higher trend of
soybean meal futures. Market participants
were preoccupied with whether corn planting
delays would continue sufficiently long enough
that some farmers would switch acres to
soybeans from corn, which was likely to drive
soy complex futures lower. Bookings were
two to three weeks forward at a time of year
when demand typically slows. Some soybean
processing plants were down for scheduled
maintenance, but shipments were not affected.
Old-crop soybean futures had a volatile
week, starting with strong gains when corn
futures moved limit up and wheat futures
firmed noticeably last Monday, building in
a weather premium as the Midwest climate
gyrated between normal spring conditions
and bouts of excessive cold, sleet and
snow. Since soybeans are planted after
corn, though, the weather obsession was
less all-consuming than in the corn market.
The market continued to show concern
about whether the Chinese economy would
stay strong enough to support the currently
heavy buying of U.S. soybeans, as well as
the progress and size of the new South
American soybean crop.
Export demand for U.S. soybeans
remained strong as evidenced by a private
sale of 290,000 tonnes to China for delivery
in 2013-14 reported by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
The U.S.D.A. reported that in the week
ended April 25, there was a net decrease
of 109,800 tonnes in export sales of U.S.
soybeans for shipment in 2012-13. Net export
sales for 2013-14 were pegged at 1,341,000
tonnes. The two-year total far surpassed trade
expectations of 600,000 to 900,000 tonnes.
Soybean meal export sales for the

Chicago corn and soy futures
Corn Futures
$ per bu
May
July
September
December
March
May
Soybeans
May
July
August
September
November
January
Soybean Meal
May
July
August
September
October
December

May 7, 2013

week ended April 25 were within analysts’
forecasts of 100,000 to 250,000 tonnes, with
net sales of 93,200 tonnes for 2012-13 and
55,700 tonnes for 2013-14. FBN

Corn Products
Prices of cornmeal and other corn
products moved higher in sync with gains
in corn futures, which closed up the 40c-abu daily limit last Monday and built on
those gains on deepening concerns about
planting delays amid excessively wet
weather conditions in much of the Corn
Belt. Prices of brewers’ grits also firmed,
reflecting an uptick in seasonal demand.
Hominy feed demand was described as
decent because the slow greening of
pastures limited grazing opportunities.
Cash-market corn prices remained
historically firm as farmers kept a tight hold
on old crop inventories.
A volatile but ultimately higher corn futures
market followed rapidly changing weather
conditions. Of great importance was how
intermittent cold and even snow, interspersed
with more seasonable warm days, would
affect producers’ ability to plant the new crop
during the time period (ending about midMay) when yield potential was the greatest.
Meteorologists were predicting a window
of dry weather beginning this week, which
was expected to allow significant planting
progress before more wet weather returned
later in May.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Crop
Progress report released April 29 showed in
stark terms the currently lagging planting
progress in the 18 main corn-producing
states. Only 5% of the corn crop was planted
by April 28, down from 49% at the same time
a year ago when temperatures were warm
and rainfall wasn’t interrupting fieldwork,

Soy products

Defatted, f.o.b. Midwest plant, $ per cwt
— Change from — Year
— Change from —
May 3 Apr. 26 Apr. 19
ago
May 3
Apr. 26
Apr. 19
Soy ﬂour
6.99½ +55½ +47½ 6.62¼ Bulk
32.95 @ 32.75 +.45@ +.09 +.56 @ +.31
6.61¼ +41½ +28¼ 6.20¼ Sacked
33.95 @ 34.75 +.45@ +.09 +.51 @ +.36
5.79¼ +34½ +7¼
5.35¼
Corn meal
5.53½ +29½ +6½
5.24¼
5.63½ +28½ +6¼
5.36 $ per cwt
5.71¼ +28½ +6¼
5.44½
— Change from —
$ per bu
May 3
Apr. 26
Apr. 19
14.55 +24¼ +26¾
14.75 Chicago, bulk
26.10@ 29.65 +.85@+.80 +.70@+.63
13.87¼ +6¼
+4¾ 14.78¼ Chicago, sacked 27.87@ 31.74 +.85@+.80 +.70@+.63
13.35¼ +16¾ +6¾ 14.58¼ New York, bulk
27.77@ 31.64 +.85@+.80 +.70@+.63
12.65¾ +18¼ +7½ 13.98¼ New York, sacked 30.19@ 34.05 +.85@+.80 +.70@+.63
12.21¼ +11
+8¼ 13.66¾
12.28¾ +11¼
+8
13.62¾ Oats
— Change from —
$ per ton
May 3
Apr. 26 Apr. 19
417.80
-.10
+5.40 432.10 Minneapolis
406.50 +1.80 +4.00 432.60 Food grade ﬂakes, f.o.b.,
32.25@32.50 —
—
387.20 +8.60 +6.20 422.50 bagged, $ per cwt
364.40 +9.40 +7.00 401.10 Milling quality oats, No. 2 heavy,
4.18
-7¾c
-9c
345.20 +5.10 +5.90 385.90 $ per bu
25@35
—
—
343.30 +5.50 +6.00 382.80 Oat hulls, $ per ton

and down from 31% as the five-year average.
Planting was 2% completed in top-producing
Iowa (36% as the 2008-12 average for the
date), 1% in Illinois (36% as the average),
1% in Indiana (30%), 2% in Ohio (25%), 3% in
Nebraska (26%) and zero in Minnesota (33%).
Corn in the 18 major states was 2%
emerged as of April 28, compared with 14%
last year and 6% as the average.
Demand for U.S. corn from foreign buyers
was strong in the week ended April 25. The
U.S.D.A. reported net export sales of corn at
329,300 tonnes in 2012-13 and 656,000 tonnes
in 2013-14, far exceeding trade estimates of
300,000 to 450,000 tonnes. FBN

Oats
Sales of food-grade oats flakes slowed
as they moved out of their peak seasonal
demand period. Prices were unchanged.
In the nine primary oats-growing states,
47% of the crop had been planted by April
28, significantly less than the 87% planted in
2012 by the same date and 68% as the recent
five-year average, the U.S.D.A. said. The
crop was 35% emerged by April 28, down
from 65% at the same time last year and 47%
as the average. FBN

Rice
U.S. milled rice and rice byproducts
prices were unchanged last week with the
exception of a 50c-a-cwt gain in long grain
rice. World milled rice prices were steady,
the U.S.D.A. said.
Rice planting lagged with 44% of the crop
seeded in the six major states as of April 28,
well behind 72% a year ago and 57% as the
2008-12 average for the date, the U.S.D.A.
said. Emergence was at 24% compared with
59% last year and 35% as the average. FBN

Rice
offers f.o.b. mills, $ per cwt, bagged
— Change from — Year
Cash
May 3
Apr. 26 Apr. 19 ago
Long grain
28@29.50 0@+0.50 0@+0.50 24.25
Medium grain 28.50@28.75
—
—
27
Parboiled
30.50@33
—
— 27.25
Second
heads, bulk 18@18.50
—
—
18
Brewers
14.50@16.50
—
—
17
f.o.b. mills, $ per ton
Rice millfeed
75
—
—
60
Rice bran
175@200
— 0@+5
115
Rice hulls
25@30
— 0@+5
15
U.S.D.A. 2012 crop world price milled - $ per cwt
Long grain
19.08
—
-0.11 18.03
Medium/short
grain
18.75
—
-0.12 17.81
Broken
13.50
—
-0.08 12.76
C.B.O.T. rough rice futures - $ per cwt
May
15.20
+0.40
-0.03 14.96
July
15.35½ +0.28½
-0.15 15.21
September
15.22½ +0.25½ -0.08½ 15.42
November
15.41½ +0.31½ -0.05½ 15.64

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Food Business News - May 7, 2013

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