U.S. Gulf: Granular prices were reported to have started the week as high as $289-$290/st FOB, but quickly dropped on Monday to $281/st FOB and traded in the low $280s/st FOB for the rest of the week. There were unconfirmed reports that business may have dropped below the $280/st FOB mark.
Prills remained fairly stable, and were called $330-$332/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: The granular urea market had reportedly slipped to $325-$345/st FOB regional terminals in the Eastern Cornbelt, down $10/st from last report. Sources reported no buying activity to test the markets, however.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea prices slipped $10/st from the prior week, dropping to $325-$345/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt region. The low was reported in southern Missouri, with the upper end quoted as the common dealer price in the Iowa market.
Southern Plains: The granular urea market was quoted at $340-$345/st FOB out of the Tulsa, Okla., market. Although barges were once again moving on the Arkansas River last week, inventories in the Tulsa area were described as snug due to river closures caused by lock maintenance in August.
South Central: Granular urea pricing had reportedly slipped to $325-$340/st FOB terminals in the region, depending on location, which was down some $20-$25/st from last report.
Growers were harvesting corn and rice in the South Central region in early September. Louisiana sources said nearly 90 percent of the corn was already in the bin, while Arkansas growers were just getting started last week.
One Arkansas contact said the corn crop is at least three weeks later than last year, and high moisture is a concern. Corn yields, however, appear to be excellent. As of Sept. 1, 22-27 percent of the corn in Kentucky and Tennessee was mature, with fully 87 percent of the acreage rated as good or excellent. Cotton and soybean crops in the region were also looking good in early September.
Southeast: Although some locations were still posting granular urea at the $400-$405/st FOB level, several sources said the true dealer market for urea was lower at $390/st FOB Wilmington, N.C., Norfolk, Va., and Charleston, S.C. A North Carolina source quoted rail-delivered urea for as low as $380-$390/st from Ohio shipping points.
A period of relatively dry weather in the Southeast helped growers focus on the corn harvest in late August and early September, with good yields reported.
The wet summer has caused problems for the region’s cotton, peanut, and tobacco crops, however. One North Carolina source said tobacco yields in his trade area will be down 25-30 percent from normal.
Middle East: A few traders had to look around for material to cover their Indian contracts. Sources report that some of these traders concluded deals with OMIFCO at $285/mt FOB.
The purchases from the Indian-Omani joint venture company set a new price mark for the Middle East. Confirmation of softer prices coming from the Arab Gulf and Egypt also came from an Egyptian sale at $285/mt FOB.
Sorfert is taking its first steps in exporting granular urea with a selling tender for 20,000 mt. The tender will close Sept. 10. Sources say once the plant is fully operational it will put out 1.1 million mt of urea per year.
The new Fertil plant is also up and running. The 1.1 million mt/y facility is expected to run nonstop through the rest of the year.
All in all, sources say the new production coming online from North Africa through the Arab Gulf will be enough to keep supplies high and prices low.
Black Sea: Sources report that producers are still claiming the price is $310/mt FOB, while buyers are calling the market under $300/mt FOB. No