U.S. Gulf: Prompt granular barges that were loaded and ready to go were reported to be pulling in a premium as high as $340/st FOB last week. Two weeks out, however, and prices dropped to $305/st FOB, if not lower.
Prills were being quoted at $350-$355/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing was pegged at $425-$445/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, down another $5/st from last report.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing in the Western Cornbelt was down significantly from last report, but pricing covered a broad range in the region. Sources quoted the low end of the regional range at $390-$400/st FOB in southern Missouri last week, with the upper end pegged at $435/st FOB in Iowa.
Southern Plains: Granular urea had reportedly dropped to $370-$380/st FOB the Tulsa, Okla., market for new sales, down some $50/st from pricing levels in late April. As one source said, the market is “weak and getting weaker.”
South Central: Sources said topdress urea applications on rice were just starting in many areas last week, but activity should be heavy after the Memorial Day weekend. Some areas of the South Central region also continued to see a small amount of corn sidedress activity last week. “I believe our busiest days are still in front of us, especially on urea,” said one contact.
Granular urea had reportedly fallen to $390-$400/st FOB in the South Central region, down some $35/st from pricing levels in early May, with the low end of the range reported in the Arkansas market.
Southeast: Granular urea pricing was quoted at the $440/st mark FOB Norfolk, Va., Wilmington, N.C., and Savannah, Ga. That level was virtually unchanged from last report, with sources noting that the “market has not really dropped, even though Gulf pricing is down.”
Wet weather continued to delay fieldwork in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas last week, while unusually hot weather settled over central Florida. One Carolina source said his location received five inches of rain over the previous weekend, but growers were slowly getting back into the field by May 21.
“We are still having some problems with application due to wet fields and erratic stands due to soil being saturated and cool temperatures,” said one Georgia contact last week. “We need some drying time and warmer temps for our crops to get going.”
North Carolina growers had 96 percent of the corn and 32 percent of the soybeans planted by May 18, while cotton planting was estimated at 73 percent complete in Virginia, 64-65 percent in the Carolinas, 47 percent in Alabama, and 44 percent in Georgia. Peanut planting varied widely in the region, with progress as of May 18 rated at 71 percent complete in South Carolina, 31 percent in Alabama, and 48-49 percent in the rest of the Southeast.
India: Sources who were once confident that the main talk of this week’s IFA gathering in Sydney would be about the just-called Indian urea tender are now saying they don’t expect to hear anything until June.
One trader suggested that an announcement could be delivered to IFA delegates’ inboxes while the delegates are still in the air heading home. The safe money, however, is on a tender being called in the second week of June.
The delay in calling a tender is attributed to a number of factors. A primary motivator, said one trader, is the need for the new Indian government to get organized. New cabinet leaders need to be named, and – in turn – they need to name their subordinates. The whole procurement bureaucracy will be affected by the change in government, say observers.
Another factor leading to a delay in