AMMONIA
U.S Gulf/Tampa: No new numbers were reported for imports or for NOLA last week. However, NOLA sources indicated that price ideas may be coming down. This could reflect softening prices in the Black Sea.
July ammonia imports were off 2 percent from the year-ago month, to 755,535 st from 792,844 st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Anhydrous ammonia remained at a nominal $1,040-$1,080/st FOB regional terminals for cash market tons. There were reports of spot sales that could be had at lower numbers, but no one had the room for any prompt ship business last week. Forward contract ammonia continued to be referenced as high as $1,240-$1,250/st FOB regional terminals for October through November.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonia continued to be in a broad range at $950-$1,050/st FOB for spot tons, although there was no spot business to test those numbers. One Missouri source quoted delivered ammonia at $1,050-$1,060/st from southern production points. Forward contract postings remained at considerably higher levels, with reference prices for October through November in the $1,230-$1,240/st FOB range out of regional shipping points.
Northern Plains: Ammonia pricing continued to cover a very broad range. Minnesota sources claimed spot tons could be had for as low as $1,050/st FOB, but most dealers were full in advance of the fall application season. Looking further ahead, one supplier was referencing forward contract ammonia tons for October through November at $1,235-$1,255/st FOB regional terminals. Most said no spring prepay numbers were being offered yet, with attention first being focused on the fall season.
Dakota Gasification’s Beulah, N.D., ammonia plant was down again for minor repairs that were discovered during startup after the facility’s summer turnaround. As a result, the company will most likely refrain from taking any cash ton orders until October due to low inventories, and was holding its reference price at $1,380-$1,385/st DEL in North Dakota. A Dakota Gas source said the company took as many fall prepay commitments as it wanted to, and was focused on filling those orders with current inventories.
Great Lakes: Sources quoted spot anhydrous ammonia pricing in the $1,050-$1,125/st FOB range in the region. On a forward basis, reference levels were considerably higher at $1,200-$1,250/st FOB for October or November shipments. No spring prepay numbers were reported in the region.
Black Sea: Sources now report that a deal was done for a cargo at $870-$880/mt FOB. The buyer was not named, but one trader said the cargo was most likely 35,000 mt.
Even if it was 23,000 mt or so, sources said, the price indicates a softening from the $900/mt FOB earlier this month.
One Asian source said the $900/mt FOB is now looking like an aberration rather than an indicator of more bad times for buyers. At the time the price hit that record level sources had been predicting $900/mt FOB material – but, one said, they never believed it would be achieved.
Even with a softer price, sources say demand remains strong.
A number of plants are still in turnaround in the area, and demand remains strong in Asia and the U.S.
By November all the area plants should be back up and running. By that time, however, restrictions on passage through the Bosporus Straits will create the annual slowdown of deliveries.
The Turkish government has long required the ammonia carriers to pass through the straits only during daylight hours, and only one carrier at a time. One trader said the rules could mean adding a few extra days to the delivery schedule.
The tightness in the market that is holding prices up comes largely from strong demand in Asia and the shutdown of the Burrup facility in Australia. Supplies from the Middle East remain tight, offering scant opportunities for spot cargoes.
Calls for lower prices are growing stronger. Sources say some are talking about the price dropping to $800/mt FOB by this week. However, by the end of last week, Asian sources were reporting $860/mt FOB as the lowest rumored deal done, with a more realistic market closer to $880/mt FOB.
Middle East: Producers cling to their story that they are all sold out – and buyers believe them. Trading houses looking for material for Asian buyers are finding no help from any of the producers in the area.
The tightness is so severe that the IPCC selling tender out of Iran drew the big names in the ammonia business. Transammonia, Yara, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and at least one other company took part in the tender.
IPCC offered 23,500 mt for early October shipment.
Mitsubishi and Yara were the most competitive at $920/mt FOB. Sources say Mitsubishi got the award.
Sources are not sure if the bid of $920/mt FOB is an aberration similar to the $900/mt FOB in the Black Sea or a new base mark. Even once the premium on Iranian material of $20 is knocked off, that would represent an increase in the Middle East pricing of at least $60/mt.
Asian sources report that previous problems with IPCC delivering the tons to the port on time have all been smoothed over. One source noted that Mitsui takes monthly cargoes from Iran without incident for its Asian customers.
The cargo from this tender is expected to head for Asia, where the market is tighter than any other region.
Indonesia: Mitsui’s KPA announced it will close down in November for a 20-day routine turnaround. The Mitsubishi KPI plant is also slated to shut down in November, but for 40 days. If both plants shut down and come back as scheduled, about 100,000 mt will be lost to the market. One trader said major trading houses are already having a difficult time fulfilling their contracts with the Burrup plant out and with the Middle East so tight on supply.
Reportedly, the commercial end of Mitsubishi was arguing with the technical people at KPI in the hopes the plant could stay open a little longer. The technicians won. One source said safety and efficiency won out over sales.
UREA
U.S. Gulf: You would almost think granular barges were on the New York Stock Exchange last week, as their fate was about the same. Granular barges were trading last week at $700-$710/st FOB, down from the prior week’s $730-$755/st FOB. Most attributed the decline to a small number of buyers and a large number of sellers. Some sellers lamented the drop, saying other sellers should have waited. They cited the problems caused by Hurricane Gustav, both the lost production at CF, as well as delays in barge traffic. They noted that the fundamentals for the 2009 corn crop remain strong.
U.S. urea imports were off 22 percent in July, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. They were 230,031 st, down from 299,994 st.
Eastern Cornbelt: The granular urea market was pegged at $800-$830/st FOB to the dealer, with the low out of spot river locations and the upper numbers out of inland shipping points.
Western Cornbelt: Urea was reported in the $800-$820/st FOB range to the dealer. There was one report of spot pricing as low as $775-$780/st FOB on the river system, but no sales to confirm the lower levels.
Northern Plains: Granular urea was pegged at $800-$805/st FOB the Twin Cities to the dealer. North Dakota sources pegged the market at $825-$845/st DEL, with the upper end of that range also reflecting dealer reference pricing FOB Carrington. One supplier was referencing forward contract urea for October through December at $843/st FOB Pine Bend, Minn., and $855/st DEL in North Dakota and northern Minnesota.
Great Lakes: Granular urea was quoted in a broad range at $800-$860/st FOB to the dealer, with the low in southern Wisconsin and the upper level reflecting referenced pricing out of Michigan shipping points. Those numbers were down considerably from last report, and some said they expect the upper end of the range to drop more to reflect current replacement costs.
Northeast: Granular urea was quoted at $830-$850/st FOB in the region, with little new business to test the market.
India: All eyes are on the STC tender scheduled to close Sept. 23. The tender, which has no indication of how many tons will be purchased or what pricing ideas the company has, is slated to be a fixed price deal instead of the graduated formula tender format the company tried earlier.
The problem for many traders is STC’s willingness to scrap a tender if the price is not to their liking. One trader noted that MMTC and IPL will at least negotiate on prices to get a better deal. STC, they say, just walks away.
Sources speculate that just about all the major players will participate in the tender. Some traders are holding positions that come due soon, and a home has to be found. For others it is a chance to gain a strong position in India that could lead to future business.
Some Asian sources are reporting that winners in the IPL and MMTC tenders are facing problems getting letters of credit issued in a timely manner. One observer noted that funds normally allocated for urea purchases by the government are being diverted to more public projects to garner support in the upcoming election. Another source said the delay is a tactic to get the producers and traders to lower their prices to reflect the current market, and not the market at the time the deal was struck.
Not surprisingly, traders and producers are pushing back.
The best bet now is that once the STC tender is done – whatever its outcome – Indian buying for the rest of the calendar year will stop.
Black Sea: Traders say the price has come off nearly $50/mt to almost sub-$700/mt FOB. Producers say the price remains steady closer to $800/mt FOB. The problem, say industry observers, is that no business has been conducted to prove either contention.
The last public bit of business was the MMTC tender that showed prices at $760-$780/mt FOB. Now traders are saying producers are willing to talk when bid at $720/mt FOB.
To make matters more complicated, Asian sources report IPL and MMTC are looking to renegotiate the prices of material sold in the two recent tenders. The Indians are looking at the softening urea market and hoping to force suppliers to ship material that reflects those prices.
Traders and producers are balking at this idea.
Despite the efforts of the producers to hold the line on pricing, sources say the buyers are in the driver’s seat. And the main buyer is India.
Asian traders said they could not think of any place that would accept material at $750/mt FOB. One trader added that finding a home for sub-$700/mt material is equally difficult.
Until a new deal is publicly struck, sources say the price they have in their models is $750-$780/mt FOB. But they also say the likelihood of sub-$700/mt FOB in the next week or so is a real possibility.
Middle East: Buyers and traders are saying talks with producers include a price range of $770-$805/mt FOB. Producers, however, are holding to their ideas as set out in the last Indian tender. With no new spot business on hand, sources say the market has no choice but to continue to look at what was done in the IPL tender – $820/mt FOB – and what was offered in the MMTC tender – $850/mt FOB – as the current range.
Reports that Egypt sold material below $770/mt FOB do not seem to faze the Arab Gulf producers.
Sources say the AG companies have plenty of orders on hand and are regulating production so no surpluses are building.
Reportedly, the producers are sitting back and waiting for the STC/India tender to run its course. If STC awards to traders with Black Sea backing, the Middle East guys will be the only source available for a future IPL tender.
Sources say buyers are pressuring the producers to lower their prices, but so far no one is making a firm bid for a named destination at a lower price. Observers note all the talk about pricing is just talk.
Sabic sent two vessels to Pakistan in the past 10 days as part of the government-to-government deal between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The deal is an aid package that includes a total of 300,000 mt of urea.
Indonesia: PIM closed a selling tender for 40,000 mt Friday, Sept. 19.
The bids showed a drop of $100/mt in pricing ideas across the board. Bids were as follows.
PIM Tender |
||
| Company | Quantity mt | US$/mt FOB |
| Unitrada | 5,000 | 695.00 |
| Parnaraya | 10,000 | 688.00 |
| Indevco | 5,000 | 687.00 |
| BBSC | 5,000 | 685.00 |
| Diva | 5,000 | 650.00 |
After a brief negotiation, Parnaraya was awarded 10,000 mt at US$700/mt FOB. The remaining tons will be offered in a follow-up tender October 17, 2008.
The winning bid represents a $90/mt drop in prices from the last tender.
The industry watched this tender closely because of its timing. It came due just a week before an STC/India buying tender, and just as reports of price drops in the Black Sea.
Sources expect to see the PIM tons offered into the STC/India tender at prices that could help push the Yuzhnyy prices down even further.
Pakistan: Jamuna Fertilizer Factory (JFF) resumed production on Sept. 11 after a suspension of four days due to leakage in the boiler tube in its ammonia plant.
NITROGEN SOLUTIONS
U.S. Gulf: The barge market was reported to be very quiet. While most were putting the most recent business around $485-$490/st FOB ($15.16-$15.31/unit), others argued that if a buyer were to bid much lower they might wind up with a barge. The argument is that upriver tanks are full, and on the East Coast, buyers sense falling international prices and no need to pay up right now. Just wait and see.
U.S. UAN imports were up 14 percent in July, to 188,527 st from the year-ago 165,861 st.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN remained at $16.00-$16.79/unit FOB regional terminals for cash tons, with reference prices for forward contract UAN-32 for October through February posted as high as $596.80.40-$606.40/st ($18.65-$18.95/unit) FOB in the region.
Western Cornbelt: The UAN market was reported at $16.00-$16.50/unit FOB terminals to the dealer, with reference pricing reported at the $17.20/unit FOB level from some suppliers. One Missouri source quoted the dealer price for UAN-32 in his location at $525/st ($16.41/unit) FOB.
Northern Plains: UAN continued to be quoted by Minnesota sources at $17.40/unit FOB, give or take, with some claiming product is short in the Northern Plains market. North Dakota sources pegged the UAN-28 market at $510-$530/st ($18.21-$18.93/unit) DEL. On a forward contract basis for October through February, one supplier was referencing UAN-32 at $608/st ($19.00/unit) FOB Pine Bend.
Great Lakes: UAN pricing remained in a broad range in the region. The low was reported at $17.40/unit FOB in Wisconsin for spot tons, with the upper level for UAN-28 at $529-$539/st ($18.89-$19.25/unit) FOB in Michigan for reference pricing to the dealer.
Northeast: The UAN market was pegged at $15.60-$16.00/unit FOB Baltimore, Md., and Philadelphia, Pa., with delivered UAN-30 to points in southern Pennsylvania quoted at the $495/st ($16.50/unit) mark. Out of terminals in upstate New York, the UAN-32 market was reported at the $16.75/unit FOB mark to the dealer.
AMMONIUM NITRATE
U.S. Gulf: Price ideas continue to span a broad range. While some argue the market is headed toward $500/st, some sellers are posting $555-$575/st FOB for near-term business. Some of the discrepancy is reportedly product age and quality.
Imports were off 46 percent in July, to 36,581 st from the year-ago 67,542 st.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate was quoted at $560-$600/st FOB in the region.
AMMONIUM SULFATE
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was steady at $495-$505/st FOB, with the upper end reflecting the list price.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $475-$495/st FOB, with the low in Missouri on a spot basis. Dealer reference pricing was as high as $505/st FOB in the region.
Northern Plains: The granular ammonium sulfate market was pegged at $495-$505/st FOB, with delivered sulfate referenced at $525/st in North Dakota, $530/st in South Dakota, and $535/st in northern Minnesota.
Great Lakes: Granular ammonium sulfate was reported at $480-$505/st FOB in the region, depending on supplier. A Wisconsin source reported mid-grade sulfate referenced at the $485/st FOB level last week.
Northeast: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $475-$500/st FOB in the region.
U.S. Imports: Imports were off 29 percent in July, to 16,979 st from the year-ago 24,042 st.
PHOSPHATES
Central Florida: Despite its precarious position dangling down from the continental U.S., Florida again defied the odds and dodged another severe hurricane last week in the form of Ike, which hit the Houston area and damaged fertilizer facilities, oil refineries, homes, and businesses in that area. For the first time in about a month, no new hurricanes or tropical storms were threatening the state or the Gulf of Mexico region. The peak of the hurricane season was on Sept. 10.
Agrifos’ processing plant at Pasadena, which is located on the shipping channel, was damaged by the storm but was not as serious as anticipated. The basic operating units were essentially undamaged (see page 1). The flood damage was primarily to pumps, motors, and motor controls, which will take time to repair or replace but was not considered severe. One of the company’s two large warehouses suffered a collapse in the central section of the roof, but most of the product was undamaged. Labor and materials will be the biggest challenges to the company’s restoration plans, because many employees have lost their homes. The sulfuric acid plant will be the first part of the plant to return to service, which will likely happen in the next couple of weeks, rather than months.
New business has been nonexistent for weeks in Central Florida, although railcars were still being loaded with purchases made earlier this year. Due to extremely wet weather in the spring, crops were late getting planted and will be late coming out of the ground. The fall season, which should already be underway, will probably not get started until sometime during early to mid-October. Even then, it was unclear how much phosphate will be used, but most in the industry were predicting a lower application rate than during the previous year.
With no new prompt sales the price range has not changed, but will most likely head downward once the season gets underway.
The Central Florida DAP price range last week remained at $1,070-$1,080/st FOB. PCS Sales’s Central Florida reference price was unchanged at $1,070/st FOB for DAP and had a $25/st FOB premium for MAP. Mosaic’s asking price was $1,090/st FOB for DAP and $1,115/st FOB for MAP, but the company was making sales at $10/st FOB less for both products. CF’s price was $1,040/st FOB for DAP, and its MAP was priced at $1,100/st FOB. In Texas, Agrifos’ DAP was $1,050/st FOB for trucks and $1,045/st FOB for rail shipments.
U.S. Gulf: New prompt sales of phosphates on the river market last week may have been no more plentiful than life on the moon, but speculation on the impact of Hurricane Ike was running rampant. Apparently obituaries on Agrifos were premature, because the company was not as dead as rumored. That could make life interesting for some in the business.
A sale of MAP railcars last week was made after the buyer moved to replace product a customer had ordered earlier. The phosphate was to have come from Agrifos and at a significantly higher price than the current market, so the buyer in the transaction replaced the material with lower cost product from another source and his customer was locked into the earlier price. However, Agrifos may be able to make good on its original deal, despite damage to its facility at Pasadena. While one of its two large warehouses was damaged, most of the phosphate it had stored was not, and could be shipped within the allowable time frame if the material that survived matched the specs for the order. Transportation and loading could be the problem, rather than availability. The company expected to make a “progressing restart” during October.
Mosaic’s Faustina plant was still down late last week, and company officials declined to state when it would return to operation. An outside source said sulfuric acid production had resumed at Uncle Sam and power had been restored to the processing plant. Considering the slow pace of new business, Mosaic could decide to keep the facility offline until the market improves.
Winter wheat farmers in Oklahoma were beginning to prepare their fields in some areas, but no serious movement of phosphates out of warehouses was underway last week. Other sections of that area had not begun ground preparation, and the start of the fall season was likely to be delayed until the end of the month or later, rather than starting last week, which would be the norm.
The price of corn was around $5.50/bushel last week, but heavy rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ike could affect crop yields, which could push prices higher. Higher prices would encourage the use of more fertilizers.
The NOLA DAP barge price was $950/st FOB last week. MAP barges were $25-$60/st FOB more than DAP. Mosaic’s asking price for NOLA DAP barges was $1,100/st FOB and $1,125/st FOB for MAP, and its prices for October and November were scheduled to increase $10/st FOB. CF was seeking $1,050/st FOB for DAP and to $1,110/st FOB for MAP for prompt deliveries.
Eastern Cornbelt: Phosphate pricing continued to slip out of regional warehouses, though there was little actual spot business to test the market. Sources pegged the DAP market at $1,040-$1,080/st FOB, with MAP at $1,080-$1,120/st FOB. One supplier was referencing forward contract DAP tons for October through December at $1,058/st FOB Peoria, Ill., and $1,063/st FOB Cincinnati.
10-34-0 was quoted at $1,150-$1,200/st FOB for very limited tons, with the low reported in Ohio on a spot basis for recent confirmed business.
Western Cornbelt: The DAP market was pegged at $1,040-$1,075/st FOB regional warehouses to the dealer, with MAP at $1,075-$1,115/st FOB. Both ranges reflected another drop from the previous week, with some sources claiming spot prices on the river system were at even lower numbers as the week advanced. Sources reported no new business to test the ranges, however.
Several sources quoted the 10-34-0 market firmly at the $1,200/st FOB level for very limited spot tons, with some speculating that $1,300/st FOB might be just around the corner.
Northern Plains: Phosphate pricing covered a wide range in the region. Minnesota sources said DAP could be had on the spot market for as low as $1,050/st FOB last week, with MAP at the $1,100/st FOB mark to the dealer. A North Dakota source said MAP prices ranged all the way from $1,100-$1,200/st DEL, with some regional warehouses in the western part of the state listed at $1,160/st FOB to the dealer.
North Dakota sources also quoted delivered 10-34-0 last week at $1,275-$1,300/st, provided you can find any tons for sale. Effective Oct. 1, Agrium’s postings for both super phosphoric acid and merchant grade acid will firm to $2,650/st rail-DEL in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Postings will firm again to $2,700/st rail-DEL in November.
Great Lakes: The DAP market was quoted in a broad range at $1,050-$1,113/st FOB regional warehouses, with the low reported by Wisconsin sources out of river locations and the upper level in Michigan. MAP was $1,100-$1,155/st FOB in the region. No current prices were reported for 10-34-0, but one Wisconsin source speculated that any available prompt tons could be as high as $1,300/st FOB by October.
Northeast: The DAP market was quoted at $1,080-$1,100/st FOB in the region, with the upper end reported out of Pennsylvania warehouse locations. MAP was $1,105-$1,125/st FOB to the dealer. 10-34-0 remained at a firm $1,100/st FOB in the region.
U.S. Export: PhosChem was still staying out of the export market last week due to sluggish prices, but its – and the world’s – biggest customer, India, made no buys anyway. However, India was likely to make additional buys before the end of the year to meet its needs.
Venezuela made a purchase of 30,000 mt of MAP from China last week, but the price was not available.
TFI issued its export phosphate report for August, which to no one’s surprise showed India as the largest customer with purchases of 421,050 mt that month. Brazil was a distant second with 34,800 mt, followed by Canada at 25,491 mt. For the month, a total of 516,203 mt was exported, a decrease of 1 percent. India has purchased 2,062,947 mt of the total exports of 3,265,709 mt from January through August. The second biggest buyer was Japan at 195,335 mt, and Australia was the third biggest customer with 168,236 mt for the calendar year-to-date.
Canada was the top importer of U.S. MAP in August at 71,849 mt, Australia was next at 29,097 mt, and Brazil third with 28,936 mt. Total MAP exports for August amounted to 178,604 mt, an increase of 22.3 percent. Canada also leads the list for the calendar year-to-date, taking 364,097 mt, followed by Australia at 244,600 mt and Brazil with 241,943 mt. The total for the first eight months of the year was 1,201,326 mt, a decrease of 14.4 percent in comparison to the same period in 2007.
With no new sales by U.S. producers, the export DAP price range remained unchanged at $1,160-$1,215/mt FOB
POTASH
Eastern Cornbelt: The potash market remained firmly in the $900-$930/st FOB range, depending on location, grade, and time of delivery.
Western Cornbelt: Potash was reported at $900-$935/st FOB regional warehouses, with the upper end quoted by Missouri sources for white granular tons. One Iowa source pegged the granular potash market firmly at the $925/st FOB level last week, but said reports of new Russian tons valued at $950/st FOB the U.S. Gulf would put the warehouse market at more than $1,000/st FOB before long.
Northern Plains: Potash was quoted at $900-$925/st FOB level for brokered or reseller tons out of Minnesota warehouse locations. A Dakota source pegged the delivered potash market in a broad range at $850-$950/st, depending on supplier, and also noted that early indications are that growers may cut back on fall plowdown rates due to a later-than-normal harvest schedule, a potentially narrower window for fall fieldwork, and some price resistance at the retail level.
Potash postings FOB Saskatchewan mines for the Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 shipping period include $767/st FOB for standard, $780/st FOB for soluble, $772/st FOB for granular, and $780/st FOB for white granular.
Great Lakes: The potash market was quoted at $910-$960/st FOB regional warehouses to the dealer, with the low in Wisconsin and the upper level in Michigan. One Michigan source said that number would probably jump to $980-$990/st FOB in the near term based on replacement costs for brokered tons.
Northeast: Sources quoted the potash market at $846-$900/st FOB, depending on grade and location, with delivered potash reported in a very broad range at $850-$950/st.
Intrepid Potash raised their Intrepid Trio price $50/st to all Eastern U.S shipping points. Effective September 8, the Florida Granular Trio price is $460/st DEL, and standard Trio is $433/st DEL.
U.S.Imports: Imports were up 5 percent in July, to 721,804 st from the year-ago 689,911 st. The July 2008 average value was $380.64/st versus the year-ago $136/74/st, according to DOC, an increase of 191 percent.
Bangladesh: The government has reportedly decided to import 100,000 mt of MOP from India to meet its needs.
SULFUR
Tampa: Refineries in the Galveston and Houston area suffered damage from Hurricane Ike, but most were expected to return to service much sooner than initially anticipated. The biggest problem most were facing was a loss of power, and that should be restored in less than two weeks from the time the storm struck. Without a doubt sulfur supplies to Tampa will be affected, but probably not significantly, as had been feared. First, refineries will be back in operation soon, and second, phosphate processors in Central Florida had stored sulfur prior to the storm. In addition, three sulfur vessels that had been harbored in Texas during Ike were previously loaded and sailed for Tampa last week.
Martin’s sulfur handling terminal at Beaumont had lost power but was running generators and was expected to begin receiving trucks by this weekend. In addition, the priller and ship loader there suffered no serious damage from Ike, other than having power and water issues, and was expected to return to service by the weekend.
An unconfirmed report said a unit train of sulfur from Lost Cabin was at Galveston when Ike struck, and the product was lost. Mosaic was Lost Cabin’s customer. Another sulfur supplier said its railcars were moved out of the city prior to the arrival of the storm and doubted the report on the loss of the Lost Cabin sulfur cars.
Once refineries in the area restart production, it will be another two-to-five days before sulfur production resumes.
Refineries near Agrifos that supply the phosphate producer with sulfur may have a problem and must wait until issues there are resolved and production resumes. However, sulfuric acid production will be the first thing to restart at Agrifos.
U.S. Imports: Imports were up 104 percent in July, to 244,750 st from the year-ago 120,206 st. The average value of the July 2008 imports as assessed by DOC was $417.70/st versus the year-ago $35.35/st, a 2,306 percent increase.