Milling & Baking News - December 22, 2015 - 42

Ingredient Week X

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were limited
last week. Price adjustments were minor.
Bakers heeding dictates of the calendar and seeking to tie loose ends before
leaving offices for the holidays booked
basis and/or millfeed credits to complete contracts for January-March 2016.
Most earlier had covered the futures
component for the quarter.
The activity added at least minimally
to extensive first-quarter contract balances. Indications were bakers' commitment for January-March flour contracts
(reflecting both completed bookings and
component positions committing bakers
to flour contracts with particular suppliers) rose to about 75% to 85% of the
potential business for the quarter. Spring
grade users held the most extensive
commitments, soft flour users the least
with pan bread bakers in between.
Bakers' commitments to second-quarter 2016 flour contracts were estimated at
about 35% of the expected business, but
this coverage mostly was in the form of
futures positions. Bakers continued to
balk at millfeed credits at wide discounts
to the January-March quotes.
Futures coverage was extensive with
several bakers having taken positions in
futures relating to flour contracts through
July, September or even the end of 2016.
Scattered inquiry was indicated from
bakers contemplating extending futures
coverage into or through 2017.
Mill grind was about six days last
week with mill operations expected to be

Bakery ﬂour
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

curtailed in the following two holidayshortened weeks. MBN

Family Flour
Sales and shipments of national and
regional brands of family flour began to
wane last week. Carlot list prices were
unchanged.
With grocers' shelves stocked for the
holidays, orders and shipments of family flour slowed seasonally. Once the
holidays are over, the family flour market was expected to endure a typical
January slump, when grocers and other
outlets clear shelves of any surplus supply left after the baking season.
Aggressive discounting was evident
on grocery shelves across the country. A
Southwest chain of grocery stores offered
Gold Medal flour at 99c per 5-lb bag. This
clearly reflected grocers' willingness to
take a loss on the flour sale in an effort
to draw consumers to the baking aisle to
purchase other ingredients. More typical
were shelf offers of two 5-lb bags for $4.
In the market for private label flour,
most grocers and other principal buyers
earlier booked their expected flour needs
through May or even June 2016. MBN

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour expanded last week. Prices
were lowered.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum eased last week and was quoted
at about $8.90 a bu at the Chicago gateway. The Minneapolis price was $8.60.

For the first time this marketing year,
U.S. durum mills began to encounter an
increase in durum offers from Canada.
Market participants suggested the weakness in the Canadian dollar versus the
U.S. dollar and the impending close of
the Great Lakes for the season may spur
interest in shipping durum into the United States. At the same time, Canadian
offers weren't yet competitive with U.S.
durum prices and may have to decline
before encountering significant interest
among U.S. durum millers.
The desert durum crop of California
was planted, and planting in Arizona
was well under way. Expectations were
seedings will be lower than last year because of weaker cash durum prices.
Pasta manufacturers displayed no sense
of urgency with regard to booking semolina in view of the stable cash durum market.
But given the upcoming two weeks will be
holiday shortened, the calendar suggested
it was time to put on some additional firstquarter 2016 coverage before leaving offices for the holidays, and a number of pasta
makers did so. The pre-holiday activity was
said to have raised semolina coverage for
January-March to about 75%.
Durum mill grind was said to average
six days-plus, but cutbacks were expected during the two holiday weeks. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$22.00
$20.00
$18.00
$16.00

No. 1 hard amber durum
Track, Chicago
- Change from - Year $ per bu
Dec. 18
Dec. 18 Dec. 11 Dec. 4 ago Choice milling 13% 8.90

- Change from - Year
Dec. 11 Dec. 4 ago
-.10
-.10 16.90

$14.00
$12.00
D

J
Previous Year

13.85
13.75
12.00
...

-0.05
-0.05
-
...

-0.25
-0.25
-
...

17.35 Track, Minneapolis
17.25 $ per bu
14.00 Choice milling 13% 8.60
...

14.30
14.20
17.20
14.20
14.55
14.05
13.95
19.65

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-0.10

-0.80
-0.80
-0.80
-0.80
-0.80
-0.80
-0.80
-0.05

18.55
18.45
21.45
18.45
18.80
18.30
18.20
22.20

13.85
15.35

-0.15
-0.15

-0.30
-0.30

16.50
18.00

16.25
16.30
19.30
17.35
22.15

-0.05
-
-
-0.15
-0.10

-0.25
-0.80
-0.80
-0.30
-0.05

19.75
20.60
23.60
20.00
24.70

18.65
18.70

-0.05
-0.05

-0.25
-0.25

22.25
22.30

42 / December 22, 2015 XMilling & Baking News

S
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-.10

-.10

16.60

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$28.00

Semolina

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
Dec. 18 Dec. 11 Dec. 4
Semolina
21.85
-.30
-.25
Granulars
21.65
-.30
-.25
Flour
21.55
-.30
-.25
First clear
...
...
Second clear
...
...
Semolina - N.Y. 24.65
-.30
-.25

$24.00

Year
ago
41.05
40.85
40.75

$20.00
$16.00
$12.00
D

J
Previous Year

43.85

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

S
Current Year

Cracker ﬂour, Chicago
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$21.00

Dollars
Dec. 18
Family patent, 2-25s papers 24.12
4-10s
n.a.
8-5s
18.52
18-2s
20.64
Self-rising
n.a.

$19.00

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

$17.00
$15.00
$13.00
$11.00
$9.00
D

J
Previous Year

S
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - December 22, 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - December 22, 2015