AMMONIA
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Second half March officially rolled over to the $370/mt DEL mark, though two players ?- Yara and Mosaic – had already done that number for the whole month. Others, last week, fell in line.
In the meantime, over at NOLA, while the last done was put at $355/st FOB on the barge market, others say the next cargo may go lower should someone need to sell, as barge equipment is in short supply and inventories may be at sufficient levels upriver. At least a few players were reported to be working on new trades for March; however, it was still to be seen if the logistics could be worked out for a new trade in the near term.
Ammonia imports are off 10 percent for the period July-January, according to DOC statistics, with 4.6 million st coming in during the recent seven month period, versus the year-ago 5.15 million mt.
Eastern Cornbelt: Pricing was up slightly from last report, and supplies were described as tight. Ammonia was quoted at $470-$490/st FOB regional terminals, with some reference prices at still higher levels to the dealer.
Western Cornbelt: Anhydrous ammonia remained at $445-$465/st FOB in the region, with the low in Nebraska and the upper numbers in Missouri. One supplier was offering forward contract ammonia for April at $455-$460/st FOB Nebraska and Iowa terminals, and $475/st FOB Palmyra, Mo.
Southern Plains: Anhydrous ammonia pricing was actually down slightly from last report. The market was quoted at $400-$410/st FOB production points in Oklahoma and Texas, with the dealer market out of pipeline terminals in Kansas pegged at the $430-$435/st FOB level. No current delivered numbers were reported in the region last week.
South Central: The regional terminal market for anhydrous ammonia had reportedly firmed to $415-$425/st FOB last week, with additional near-term increases expected. At Henderson, Ky., the line to pick up anhydrous ammonia was said to be about nine hours long last week.
Black Sea: Prices remain stable. Sources in Asia expect a drop in price once U.S. purchases begin to decline. Sources say spring demand from the States is expected to slack off later this month. European demand has eased because domestic production has been able to handle more demand than expected.
While material from Yuzhnyy is no stranger to the Pacific, sources say more tons than usual are now heading to the east.
Even with this strong demand, sources say the price has made only incremental changes. Asian observers put the market at $280-$290/mt FOB.
Asian sources report a four-day delay passing through the Bosporus Straits.
Middle East: Indian demand is keeping the order books in this region full. At the same time, sources say Asian buyers are looking to get whatever they can.
Part of the problem for the Middle East producers is the on-again/off-again nature of Safco 4. Sources report the troubled complex is back up and running, but at only 60-70 percent of capacity.
While the plant was down, Mitsui was covering the Sabic contracts that were to have been filled from Safco 4. The Japanese trading house covered the Safco/Sabic customers as well as its own.
Sources now say that even if Safco 4 comes back on line and achieves 100 percent of capacity, it will be into late May before any non-committed tons will see the market.
Sales to India are coming in at an estimated netback of $330/mt FOB. Producers are now saying the new price is $350/mt FOB. Traders dismiss this higher amount as dreaming. One trader added, however, that $340/mt FOB is very likely before this month is out.
Producers tell potential buyers the higher prices are justified because of the absence of any spot tons. Contracted tons dating back several months currently dominate all sales out of the area.
Also adding to grief from the area is the continued delay
in the start-up of the Iranian plant.
Asian sources say the best deal right now is in the upper
$320s-low $330s/mt FOB.
Asia: Taiwan and South Korea took a breather from orders while the Safco 4 plant was down. The thinking, said one trader, was that their on-hand reserves would be able to hold them over until the plant came back online.
Unfortunately for them, said one source, the Safco 4 facility has not come online and demand has not eased.
Taiwan Fertilizer and CPDC continue to need their monthly take of about 30,000 mt each. The problem they face is that the joint storage facility in the south can only hold 40,000 mt at a time. One source noted that as soon as the cargoes are unloaded, the ammonia is moved quickly to the appropriate buyer.
One source commented that while FTC once depended on Sabic and CPDC on Mitsui, the Japanese trading house is servicing both – at least until Safco 4 comes back online. This source noted that some cargoes coming in are split between the two buyers at the Taiwanese port.
Reports are circulating that PhilPhos/Philippines is looking for 10-15,000 mt of ammonia. The buyer is sharing the problem of all other spot buyers in finding material at the right time and price.
UREA
U.S. Gulf: The granular barge market was quiet last week compared to the recent weeks of price jumps. Most were putting new prompt sales within the $360-$364/st FOB range. Most of the attention was on the still hot DAP market.
Import numbers continue to be off versus last year. In January, imports were off 38 percent, to 604,222 st from the year-ago 960,679 st. For the July-January period they were off 36 percent, at 2.9 million st versus 4.5 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing was steady at $395-$402/st FOB in the region.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea was quoted at $395-$400/st FOB in the region, with the low FOB Kansas City, Mo. The dealer market FOB St. Joseph, Mo., was tagged at the $400/st mark. Delivered urea in eastern Nebraska was reported at $415/st from Oklahoma shipping points.
Southern Plains: Granular urea was pegged at $390-$395/st FOB Catoosa, Okla., with some suppliers referencing the $400/st FOB mark at the port last week. Truck availability was another problem due to the brisk topdress movement in recent weeks, sources said.
South Central: The movement of granular urea was second only to phosphates in the region last week. Urea pricing was tagged at $385-$405/st FOB regional terminals, up from last report.
Southeast: Granular urea pricing was quoted at $395-$400/st FOB port terminals in the region. Supply was said to be tight to nonexistent, depending on location.
Black Sea: The word last week was that the market is clearly demand driven. Add a dash of expectation about what India will do and, say sources, the price goes up.
Industry watchers are careful to point out there are currently two types of markets running in the area. The higher price of $330/mt FOB is pegged at trader business. The lower price of $320/mt FOB is the end-user price.
Sources say business was done at both ends and that there is plenty of room for more advancement.
One trader said ongoing deals, the unexpected additional business in Turkey, and anticipation of the Indian business has been more than enough to push the price up. In addition, while the Latin American markets by themselves cannot move the Yuzhnyy price, sources say the steady demand and anticipated additional business is enough to keep the price from slipping once added in with all the other deals.
Industry observers are still marveling at how the price continues to climb even as a major buyer stays out of the market. In the past, said one trader, MMTC and IPL from India could force the price down by holding off just a couple of weeks.
This year, however, the demand appears to be strong enough from other sources that all the Indian buyers are succeeding in doing is ensuring they will have to pay higher prices once they enter the market.
Still, as one trader pointed out, the experience of the past few Indian tenders has been that once the deals are sealed, the Yuzhnyy market crashes.
For now, however, the strength of the market is seen in the latest business done by Helm and Keytrade under the ASSC/Iran tender. Sources report the final price was about $378/mt CFR for a netback around $330/mt FOB. While the source for this tender is officially listed as “Open,” sources speculated the material will most likely come from the CIS.
India: Buyers are still traveling, looking for a deal. It seems the representatives of IPL and MMTC are pushing the idea of long-term contracts with the thinking that producers would be happy to have full order books for the rest of the year.
Sources say while that idea strikes a chord, the Indian buyers are reportedly looking for the deal to include pricing on a formula basis, while the producers want firm prices. The impasse is leading to more talks while the price keeps rising.
Reportedly, the buyer representatives are asking for deals that extend through the rest of the year. The idea is to stretch out the buying to avoid the spikes in prices that have come with each tender call in the past.
So far, the efforts seem to be focusing on the Middle East suppliers. Producers are more than happy to sign a long-term contract, but only if the buyers agree to a price now. This provision is the big sticking point. The buyers are looking for long-term deals that include formula pricing.
Observers on all sides see why each side is taking the position it is. Producers see a tight market for most of the rest of this year and want to secure the current high prices before anything changes to bring the prices down. Buyers don’t want to be stuck with record high prices later in the year, when prices are expected to drop.
The buyers are also facing the problem that the only way they can do this kind of long-term deal is with the Middle East producers. The CIS producers want money in advance, something the Indian government prohibits.
For now, say sources, India is not in the driver’s seat. In the past MMTC and IPL could force the price down by withholding their purchasing ideas until the market reached a level more to their liking. This year, however, stronger than expected demand coupled with production problems in some key areas are adding fuel to the price increases.
The time to make the tender call is rapidly approaching. Sources say MMTC and IPL will have to eventually bite the bullet and issue the tenders or face the wrath of irate farmers who will not have enough urea for the upcoming season.
Even as the buyers for end-users are trying to figure out what to do about the urea needs for the upcoming season, sources say NPK producers still need imported tons.
Reportedly, some talks took place last week that could move some urea into India for NPK production. The problem with confirming any business is that buyers are worried that whatever price is mentioned will be seen as a bygone floor price. Producers are nervous the price could be seen as a ceiling.
Together, buyers and producers are holding any purchases for the NPK producers – if any – close to their collective vest.
Middle East: Producers are in no hurry to close deals. Sales are moving briskly enough that the gap between what producers claim should be the price and what everyone else says is the price is growing daily.
Producers now claim the new base price for prills and granular is $355-$360/mt FOB. To back up their claims, producers supply numbers based on netbacks from sales to the United States and Iran.
Everyone else, however, looks to the business done in Asia. Those figures show a netback for prills and granular at $325-$330/mt FOB.
Sources say the producers are using math more than sales to calculate the price. They are looking at the current Yuzhnyy price and adding the usual differential to come up with their numbers.
Enough business has been done in Asia at the $325-$330/mt FOB levels that most in the industry are comfortable calling the prilled and granular markets at that level.
Once India calls its tenders, however, all bets could be off. After India settles its semester or annual needs, sources say there will be few opportunities for similar big deals for the Middle East suppliers.
Even though Vietnam will need to import about 900,000 mt this year, many of those tons will come from China.
By May, the U.S. urea demand will be down. This could put downward pressure on granular.
Other buyers in Asia will still need tons, but none in the quantities that could make up for the excess supply if the Middle East producers do not secure most of the Indian business.
China: The 30 percent export duty on urea does not seem to be deterring exports as the central economic planners in Beijing had hoped. Domestic urea production costs have remained stable while the international price keeps going up. Sources say the current price of $315-$320/mt FOB bagged is highly competitive in a number of key markets.
Sources report the Namhae and Dongbu tenders in South Korea will be covered by Chinese product. The BCIC/Bangladesh tender from March 5 will be covered with tons from China. Vietnam will need nearly 1 million mt this year, and most of that will come from China.
The export duty was put in place to ensure a large supply of cheap urea for the farmers. At first producers were unhappy with the plan, because they wanted to keep their income high and lowering the price of their product on the domestic did not sit well.
Initially, the international market was sufficiently low that even with cheaper Chinese product the 30 percent duty made the material non-competitive. As the international price went up, however, more Chinese tons began to find their way into the international market.
Besides the recent Korean and Bangladesh business, sources say Chinese material will form the basis for most of the fertilizer assistance from South Korea to North Korea.
Vietnam: Local media reports state the country will need to import 900,000 mt of urea this year. Industry sources say the increase in imports over last year – about 780,000 mt – is largely because Vietnamese imports built up reserves in late 2005 for the 2006 seasons. Those reserves are gone, and no large quantities of material were purchased to build up reserves for this year.
At the same time the country is in need of more material than in the previous year, the price of international urea has gone up. Even if the Vietnamese depend solely on Chinese product – a likely scenario – sources say the price out of China is competitive with the Middle East and the Black Sea. The main difference is that the freight rate from China to Vietnam is significantly lower. In addition, buyers can take smaller cargoes, so the vessels can head to smaller ports that are closer to the end users.
At the same time, the country is looking to build more urea plants and improve the distribution and delivery of inputs to existing plants.
South Korea: Namhae and Dongbu closed their tenders for 35,000 mt each. Sources say Helm took at least one deal at $330/mt CFR for an estimated netback to China of $320/mt FOB. The tons are needed to allow South Korea to make good on its promise to provide 300,000 mt of fertilizers – urea and NPKs – to its northern neighbor. At the same time, the fertilizer companies need to ensure domestic demand is fully covered.
Bangladesh: It looks as if BCIC awarded contracts to Monsur, Hydro Carbon, and Bulk Trade from its March 5 tender. Results of the March 12 tender are unknown.
Correction: Due to a transliteration error last week, Green Markets incorrectly recorded the name of the lowest offering company in the BCIC/Bangladesh prill tender of March 5. The correct spelling should be Monsur.
NITROGEN SOLUTIONS
U.S. Gulf: Barge prices continued to move up last week, with the most recent trades called $232-$238/st FOB ($7.25-$7.44/unit). Imports actually improved somewhat in January, with 348,257 st imported, versus the year-ago 367,045 st. While that was still down 5 percent, it was not as bad as the July-January import figure, which is off 36 percent – to 1.2 million st from the year-ago 1.9 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN was pegged at $8.35-$8.57/unit FOB regional terminals and in very tight supply.
Western Cornbelt: UAN-32 was quoted at $265-$268/st ($8.28-$8.38/unit) FOB on the low end, with reference prices reported at $275-$280/st ($8.59-$8.75/unit) FOB in the region. Product was described as very short.
Southern Plains: While some sources said UAN-32 was still available as low as $250/st ($7.81/unit) FOB Oklahoma terminals last week, others said the market had firmed to $260/st ($8.13/unit) FOB, with UAN-28 referenced as high as $235/st ($8.39/unit) FOB Enid, Okla. In Kansas, UAN-32 was reportedly referenced at $275-$280/st ($8.59-$8.75/unit) FOB terminals to the dealer.
South Central: UAN was quoted at $7.96-$8.44/unit FOB regional terminals, up significantly from last report. Solutions tons were in short supply in the region, sources said.
Southeast: UAN-30 was running at $230-$235/st ($7.67-$7.83/unit) FOB at Wilmington, N.C., and Brunswick, Ga., while Savannah was reportedly out of product. Those prices were $15-$20/st FOB higher than last report.
AMMONIUM NITRATE
U.S. Gulf: Barges were called $245-$250/st FOB, with sources overall noting a slight amount of slippage in price. January imports were off 45 percent, to 102,033 st from the year-ago 184,357 st. For July-January they were off 33 percent, at 519,953 st from 773,023.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate was quoted at $290-$300/st FOB in the region, up slightly from last report. Delivered nitrate in eastern Nebraska was pegged at the $302/st mark from Oklahoma shipping points.
Southern Plains: Ammonium nitrate was quoted at $275-$285/st FOB Catoosa. Some suppliers were referenced as high as $300/st FOB the port, but no actual sales were confirmed at those higher numbers.
South Central: Ammonium nitrate pricing was up slightly, to $275-$290/st FOB in the region.
Southeast: Ammonium nitrate was quoted at $280-$285/st FOB and $290/st rail-DEL in the Carolinas, up slightly from last report.
AMMONIUM SULFATE
U.S. Gulf: July-January imports are up 36 percent, to 179,432 st from the year-ago 131,711 st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources talked of a $25/st increase in ammonium sulfate pricing following a new round of postings, but no new sales were reported to test the higher numbers. With the previous week’s level at $200-$205/st FOB, sources last week reported new reference prices as high as $225-$229/st FOB in the region.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was quoted at $200-$205/st FOB in the region for the last sales, with delivered sulfate referenced at $215/st in Nebraska.
Southern Plains: Granular ammonium sulfate was tagged at $180-$210/st FOB Texas shipping points, with the low FOB Freeport. Postings FOB Plainview, Texas, included granular sulfate at $210/st, coarse at $205/st, and standard at $190/st.
Effective March 5, granular ammonium sulfate postings from American Plant Food Corp. firmed to $210/st FOB Littlefield, Texas, $200/st FOB Mermentau, La., $190/st FOB Galena Park, Texas, and $180/st FOB Freeport, Texas. Coarse sulfate postings from the company will move on that date to $200/st FOB Littlefield, $180/st FOB Galena Park, and $170/st FOB Freeport, while standard will go to $190/st FOB Littlefield and $160/st FOB Freeport.
South Central: Ammonium sulfate was quoted at $195-$200/st FOB in the region, which was up from last report.
Southeast: Granular ammonium sulfate moved up $20/st since last report to $192/st FOB for locations outside of Florida, and to $215/st DEL for the Sunshine State. The new prices were effective on March 13.
PHOSPHATE
Central Florida: Although it was beginning to warm in the northern latitudes last week – at least into the 30s and 40s – recent snow, ice, and rain continued to put a damper on efforts by farmers to get into their fields, which were still soggy. Some of that area, especially in the Northeast, is served from Central Florida, so orders from there were down. Wouldn’t have made much difference, though, because inventories were so low, producers were unable to act on potential new business. However, one dealer said he purchased a railcar of DAP at $395/st DEL, which would have been a remarkable buy at that price. However, the dealer said that in December he paid only $253/st DEL, so the term “good” is relative.
Some actual good news was that CF was said to have completed its turnaround at Plant City and was working hard to make up for lost production during the three week outage. That may – but probably won’t – help the supply situation.
The Southeast was the most active area for those who sell out of Central Florida, as were areas of the Midwest served by rail. Buyers were much more likely to find truck loads available than railcars, but even trucks were said to be hard to find. Even with high rail rates, it was cheaper for buyers to buy in Central Florida than have phosphate delivered by barge – except of course, it was not available.
Sources said that last week, major phosphate producers were busy trying to convince their buyers to buy now and stock up for the next season, because prices won’t be getting any cheaper. The fact that prices have risen more than $100/st FOB in the past month may help to convince some of them. Still, some potential buyers were keeping a close eye on the corn market, which was over $4/bushel last week. One pointed out that if the price of corn drops to $3/bushel before the farmer commits to a deal, the grower would have trouble breaking even because of the high price for all fertilizers. Some at the dealer level said they have seen a reduction in application rates, especially from wheat and pasture producers.
In general, it appears phosphate prices will remain strong, which is to say they will not go down, until at least the end of the season. Even then the situation may not improve if the export market continues to be strong, which it appears will be the case. As one source said, “It appears phosphates are setting a new benchmark. It will be hard to get producers to lower prices.”
PotashCorp reiterated that its plants at White Springs and Aurora were both running at full production last week. There have been rumors that ammonia supplies to the plants have been delayed. PotashCorp said that is not the case.
New sales – what few there were last week – out of Central Florida were in the range of $350-$355/st FOB, which was the price range for the week. That was $40-$50/st FOB less than the NOLA DAP barge market price range. The range for the previous week was $340-$350/st FOB. PotashCorp increased its Central Florida reference price to $370/st FOB on March 14, from $350/st FOB. In Texas, Agrifos, which was running behind on delivery dates according to buyers, was selling truck loads at prices between $405/st FOB and $425/st FOB.
U.S. Gulf: Commenting on the NOLA DAP barge market last week, one source said prices will only stop going up when farmers stop buying, which has not happened. Supplies continued to be low last week, and DAP barges on the water were bringing the highest prices. However, even barges with load dates within the next two weeks were bringing record-breaking prices. As was the case in recent weeks, transactions at the beginning of the week were lower than those toward the end. Early in the week, the price was about $390/st FOB, but had risen to $395/st FOB and higher by the end.
On the Arkansas River, most terminals were either out of phosphates or just about, and not enough was en route to offset the shortage. However, warehouse prices were not keeping up with barge prices, which were nearly the same. Warehouse prices for dealers were running between $405/st FOB and $420/st FOB, but will be going up. One of the biggest problems on the Arkansas last week was slow barge traffic, with waits as long as 10 days at Rosedale. With delays in loading at New Orleans and the additional time it takes to get into position, the delays were running around six weeks. Terminal operators were concerned.
The big question has been – what happens when the north opens in the next couple of weeks? The southern areas of the NOLA DAP barge market have been buying for some time, and still had not received enough to satisfy their demand. If estimates are right, the more northern areas were very low on product before the end of last season and will be hungry for more than normal, which could become a serious problem. One dealer said he had no positive comments on the current market, “It’s a shame that as sophisticated as the U.S. market is, and with the ability to produce and bring in product, there is no triple (TSP), no MAP, little DAP, and even potash is getting scarce. It just strikes me as a little unusual.” Dealers are the closest distributors to farmers, and several in the northern areas were fearful of a price rebellion from their customers when they go back into the fields. Even with the price of corn over $4/bushel, some dealers were projecting reduced application rates by corn farmers, and definitely from others growing different crops.
One noted that even if the price of corn continues to go up, poultry, beef, and hog farmers will continue to buy, rather than face the disaster of losing their stock. Price increases for all agricultural goods will be felt at the supermarket by fall. Another dealer said, “This is the first time I can remember since 1965 that farmers can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s not a train.”
During the next couple of months, phosphate prices will likely continue to increase, although they may begin to slow as the cost of fertilizer reduces farmers’ profitability.
The NOLA DAP barge price for the Gulf last week was $390-$400/st FOB, but the highest price was paid for a floating barge close to the buyer. Most of the sales were made closer to $395/st FOB. The previous week the range was $378-$381/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP and MAP, both in very tight supply, were quoted at $405-$425/st FOB regional warehouses. No current pricing was available for TSP or 10-34-0. Many dealers were expressing frustration at high fertilizer prices, and some feared farmers will reduce applications, especially for phosphates. One dealer noted that if corn prices fall to $3/bushel or lower, and yields are 150 bushels/acre or less, farmers will lose money. “It’s inexcusable that DAP has moved from $260/st FOB to $425/st FOB,” he said. In addition, farmers are paying higher rates for crop insurance because corn prices have risen.
Western Cornbelt: Sources tagged the DAP and MAP markets firmly in the $405-$415/st FOB range in the region last week, where available, with some expressing doubt about the lower numbers as the week advanced. One source said at least three suppliers were out of DAP at Kansas City at midweek. One regional supplier was offering forward contract DAP for April at $428/st FOB St. Louis, Mo., and $449/st FOB Sioux City, Iowa, with forward contract MAP referenced at $446/st FOB Sioux City and $431/st FOB Pine Bend, Mo.
No current pricing was available for TSP in the region. 10-34-0 was reported at $305-$310/st FOB in the region, and in very tight supply.
Southern Plains: Steady topdress demand in recent weeks had resulted in tight phosphate inventories in the region, with outages from several suppliers reported last week. Numerous suppliers had firmed their asking price for DAP and MAP to the $415/st level FOB Arkansas River terminals in Oklahoma, with confirmed sales at that level last week. Early in the week some sources claimed tons could still be had at the $400/st FOB mark or slightly lower, but tight supply was reportedly giving support to the higher numbers as the week advanced.
10-34-0 was quoted at a firm $280-$290/st FOB in the region, with dealer reference pricing as high as $305/st at some Kansas locations. Some suppliers had reportedly pulled in the reigns on new 10-34-0 sales for the month of March so they could honor prior prepay commitments.
South Central: Dealers said last week that logistics was one of the biggest problems they were facing, in large part because of difficulty getting barges to move fertilizer products to their locations. That was especially true of phosphates, and DAP shortages were reported in some areas.
Phosphates continued to lead the way in price hikes. One dealer said the year has been frustrating, due to supply problems for fertilizers. He said he wished phosphate producers were selling more in the U.S. than on the export market.
Warehouse phosphate prices in the region had risen to $395-$415/st FOB for DAP and MAP, and were about to go up approximately another $25/st FOB, sources said. TSP was quoted at $325-$350/st FOB regional warehouses. Because NOLA phosphate barge prices were continuing to spike, warehouse prices will rise even more.
U.S. Export: PhosChem made no new sales last week, but a rumor held that a cargo of Russian DAP was sold into Latin America at a price that would result in $420/mt FOB. However, that could not be confirmed and was not used in the price range this week. Meanwhile, inventories continued to be extremely low, and sellers were not able to meet demand in some cases.
China, which has received the most DAP from North America so far this year, was due at least one more panamax-sized vessel in March, but then the existing contract with the Chinese co-op and PhosChem should be over. No announcement has been made on a new agreement.
Last week, TFI released its export report for February. China was again the biggest recipient with 52,225 mt, Japan was second at 49,618 mt, and Brazil was the third largest buyer at 36,927 mt. The total for the month was 264,328 mt, which represented a decrease of 37.2 percent from February 2006. For the calendar year-to-date, China was tops with 228,643 mt, followed by Brazil at 85,472 mt, and Thailand in third place at 52,280 mt. Total exports for the first two months of the year were 660,186 mt, a decrease of 14 percent from the same period a year ago.
TFI said Australia took the most MAP in February, 67,138 mt, with Canada second at 51,430 mt, and Japan third at 19,300 mt. For the month, total MAP exports were 188,417 mt, which was a 60.7 percent increase over February 2006. For January and February, TFI said Canada was the biggest MAP buyer at 122,667 mt, followed by Australia at 97,560 mt, and Colombia at 32,992 mt, which was an increase of 1.3 percent over the same period in 2006.
With no new sales, the export DAP remained at $410-$418/mt FOB, and was expected to increase again this week, assuming new deals are done.
POTASH
Eastern Cornbelt: Potash, which was relatively stable, was quoted at $210-$224/st FOB regional warehouses, depending on grade and location, with the low in Illinois for import tons. Most new dealer quotes were at the $216/st FOB mark or higher, with rail-delivered potash quoted at $223-$224/st in Illinois.
Western Cornbelt: Potash was $208-$222/st FOB in the region, with the upper end reflecting dealer reference pricing FOB Sioux City and the low reported last week FOB St. Joseph.
Southern Plains: Potash FOB Carlsbad, N.M., remained at $192-$198/st, depending on grade, with red granular quoted at $195/st FOB the mine. The Catoosa potash market was quoted at $208-$210/st FOB last week.
South Central: Potash pricing in the region was essentially unchanged from last report at $195-$210/st FOB, and up to $220/st DEL, depending on location.
Southeast: Potash pricing appeared to be the most stable of all fertilizer products and remained in the $220-$230/st DEL range, with most new sales priced closer to the top of that range.
SULFUR
Tampa: The sulfur and phosphate industries were said to be going to the table last week to begin negotiations for second quarter contract pricing, and were not even close to agreement, which came as no surprise. Two of the major sulfur producers were said to be seeking a bump in price of $6/lt, while at least one of the phosphate makers was seeking a reduction of $2/lt. Sulfur sellers are keen to obtain a return of the $4.50/lt they lost in the last round of negotiations. In their favor is the world market, which has been moving up and getting stronger, and a current tight supply along the Gulf Coast. However, predictions were that the tightness in the market will begin to ease, so sulfur negotiators may settle for less than they wanted before the market swings in the other direction.
Sulfur suppliers said last week that Mosaic was continuing to push for more sulfur, which has been in short supply due to the problems of several of its producers. However, the company said it had sufficient reserves to meet the challenge, and should not have a phosphate production problem now that refineries were coming back online.
Last week the Conoco/Phillips Lost Cabin Mine in Wyoming was said to be back up and operating, after being down for a few weeks. With an annual capacity of 560,000 lt, the lost production will still have a significant impact on supplies. In addition, oil refineries, such as Valero’s Port Arthur and Texas City facilities, returned to service last week, but its Lake Charles refinery was having problems and was expected to reduce sulfur production from 350 lt/day to 150 lt/day.
Plants on the Gulf Coast that turn molten sulfur into pellets were beginning to receive some material, after a long delay due to shortages in the market. The pellets will be sold on the world market, but not enough has been produced so far to make a sale.
Sulfur at the docks in Vancouver was starting to return to normal, but still had a long way to go last week. At least one supplier was said to have declared force majeure because of supply problems. Another problem facing that market has been the recent rise in ocean freight rates.