U.S. Gulf: Granular barge trades weakened overall last week, though sources reported some uptick as the week ended. The price range was put between $425-$440/st FOB for granular. The last heard on prills stood at $445/st FOB.
Concerns were mixed over the low river situation. While some were fearful of a backup in tons at NOLA, others said barges are moving upriver for now – albeit more slowly and with lighter-than-normal loads.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea continued to be quoted in the $490-$500/st range FOB regional terminals in the region.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing remained in the $495-$500/st range FOB most regional terminals in the Western Cornbelt, with the low reported in southern Missouri.
Southern Plains: Sources quoted the urea market at $490-$500/st FOB the Tulsa market last week, with most dealer quotes pegged at the $495/st FOB level.
South Central: The granular urea market was quoted at $500-$505/st FOB in Louisiana and Mississippi, with the upper end of the range at $515-$520/st FOB out of terminals in Tennessee and Arkansas.
Southeast: The granular urea market was pegged at $555/st FOB port terminals in the Southeast, where available, with numerous locations out of product in early August.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions persisted in eastern Alabama, western South Carolina, and across a wide swath of central Georgia, according to the Aug. 7 U.S. Drought Monitor. The rest of the Southeast region remained relatively drought-free, however.
Pakistan: On the heels of a series of tenders that netted 300,000 mt of imported urea, sources said that TCP would be stepping out of the urea import business. The only remaining urea import expected was the tonnage – as of yet undetermined – from Iran under a barter agreement approved by the government late last month.
New figures put together for the country last week, however, showed that Pakistan still needs about 600,000 mt of urea for the 2012 Karif season. The cause of the shortage remains the same: inadequate natural gas supplies for the domestic urea producers.
When the first round of import tenders was called in May, the Pakistani urea producers complained to anyone in the government who would listen that if the natural gas supplies were restored to the producers, they could fulfill the country’s urea needs more cheaply than imports.
The complaints fell on deaf ears. Now the complaints are being renewed as the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the government cabinet approved the importation of an additional 300,000 mt.
When the ECC met early last week, proponents of more imports suggested TCP should be allowed to import 600,000 mt. That number was cut in half. Some argued that the reduced number was more practical because of lower-than-expected monsoon rains.
As of press time, TCP has not called a tender for the 300,000 mt. Sources say the company may first be trying to work with Saudi Arabia for another government-to-government deal. Similar arrangements in the past freed up Pakistan’s limited foreign reserves by drawing on loans and grants from the Saudis. In return, the money lent to Pakistan is used to purchase Sabic material.
At the same time, Pakistan’s government wants to move ahead with a barter deal with Iran. Under the arrangement, Pakistan is slated to send Iran about 1 million mt of wheat at the prevailing international market price. In return, Pakistan will receive iron ore and fertilizers, including urea.
The two governments have been working on the deal since February. The delay came largely from Iran. It insisted that the Pakistan wheat be free of a fungal di