Central Florida: Central Florida phosphate traders continued preparations to supply the spring growing season, but active transactions were few and far between. Trader offers for rail-loaded DAP were quoted at $445/st FOB, while DAP shipped by truck was $5/st higher. Producer tons started at $440/st FOB. MAP commanded a $20/st FOB premium to DAP.
Cold, wet weather continued to limit fieldwork in the eastern U.S. “It was warming up,” said one trader, “but now they are expecting a bit of snow coming up.”
Sources called the Central Florida DAP market $440-$450/st FOB, unchanged from the previous week. MAP remained at $460-$470/st FOB.
U.S. Gulf: It was another slow week on the NOLA barge market. Confirmed early week transactions registered as high as $425/st FOB for prompt, but $421/st FOB barges were on the books as of March 19, with a number of sources quoting bids topping out at $417-$418/st FOB for the next round of business.
MAP offers were quoted from the mid-$420s/st FOB into the low $430s/st FOB, though no concluded transactions were reported.
April barges were called about $5/st lower than prompt, and April paper traded down to $410/st FOB.
Sources pinpointed the prompt DAP barge sales valued at $421/st FOB as having moved the market down. “It’s mostly the hedgers,” said one source. “They need to sell a certain number of barges. And they will, no matter the price.”
For weeks the market has faced downward pressure from the looming arrival of at least 160,000 mt of imported DAP and MAP. The expected arrival of the vessels comes at an inopportune time, with the market waiting for the spring planting season to get underway.
The large number of Moroccan imports is suspected of playing a hefty role in the market’s backslide, but others argued that the market was overreacting. “When you think about (Mississippi Phosphates) going under, the imports are just replacement,” said one source. “There’s nothing extra. But with the river still closed and the Northeast not opening up yet, the demand just isn’t there right now.”
Fertilizer movement varied region by region, but a spike in sales from Inola-area terminals signaled active fieldwork in some locales served by that market. “In Inola, they moved over 3,000 trucks in one day,” said one source. “That’s all fertilizers combined, but it’s a sign that the terminal market is headed in the right direction.”
Sources quoted the NOLA DAP market at $421-$425/st FOB, down from $428-$435/st FOB the week before. MAP remained in a range of $430-$437/st FOB due to a lack of confirmed transactions, though traders expected the next round of business to follow the DAP market down.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP was steady at $475-$485/st FOB regional warehouses in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the lower end of the range reported in the Cincinnati market. MAP was tagged at $480-$500/st FOB in the region.
10-34-0 was quoted at $580-$600/st FOB in the region for any available tons, but most sources said supplies were completely tapped out last week.
Western Cornbelt: DAP pricing was flat at $475-$480/st FOB most warehouses in the Western Cornbelt region, with MAP quoted in the $480-$490/st FOB range. Nebraska sources quoted delivered MAP in the $517-$520/st range for tons shipped from Catoosa, Okla.
Most sources reported that 10-34-0 was unavailable in the Western Cornbelt last week, although some claimed a few spot sales in the $590-$600/st FOB range for very limited tons. The majority of 10-34-0 contacts, however, repeated versions of the same line: “It’s not available. You can’t get it.”
So