U.S. Gulf:
NOLA potash barge trades edged just a bit lower for the week, with new trades reported in the $310-$315/st FOB range, down from $310-$318/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Potash was pegged at $350-$365/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location, with the low confirmed at Ottawa and reflecting another $5/st drop from last report. The Cincinnati market was quoted at $350-$360/st FOB, down $5-$10/st.
Western Cornbelt:
The potash market remained at $345-$360/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location, with the St. Louis and Caruthersville markets pegged in the $350-$355/st FOB range.
Southern Plains:
Potash pricing was reported at $345-$350/st FOB Catoosa/Inola and Houston, down $5-$10/st from early April levels. Postings from Intrepid FOB Carlsbad, N.M., remained at $430/st for 60 percent white granular and $437/st for 62 percent white standard.
South Central:
Potash prices were quoted at $345-$360/st FOB in the South Central region, depending on location, with most warehouses falling in the $350-$355/st FOB range at mid-month.
Southeast:
Potash pricing had reportedly slipped to $345-$350/st FOB Wilmington, with rail-DEL offers in the Southeast ranging in the $390s/st for Canadian tons.
Canada:
Canpotex on April 20 said it is fully committed on potash sales into September 2021 due to continued strong demand in numerous offshore markets, supported by solid fundamentals for several major agricultural commodities and a focus on food security in a number of Canpotex’s offshore markets.
Canpotex has not said if it has reached new contract supply agreements with its Indian or Chinese customers.
India:
Arab Potash Co. (APC) has agreed to a new potash supply contract with India Potash Ltd. (IPL) for firm and optional quantities totaling 350,000 mt, to be delivered from April through December, the producer said in an April 18 stock exchange filing.
APC said the new contract is based on prevailing prices, assumed to be the recently revised Indian contract price of $280/mt CFR with 180 days’ credit. APC, together with ICL and Belarus Potash Co. (BPC), are the only producers so far to publicly disclose that they have reached new supply contracts with India.
ICL announced a new supply contract settlement with IPL on April 5 at $280/mt CFR, and said it will supply an aggregate 600,000 mt of potash, with mutual options for an additional 50,000 mt, through December 2021. BPC in late January contracted to supply 800,000 mt to the Indian market at an initial price of $247/mt CFR (GM Jan. 29, p. 17), but announced a price revision to $280/mt CFR on April 5 (GM April 9, p. 17).
Meanwhile, RCF on April 22 called a tender for the supply of 105,000 mt of standard potash to MBPT (Hay Bunder), of which 35,000 mt is firm quantities and 70,000 mt is at the buyer’s option. The tender closes on May 3, and offers are required to remain valid for 30 days from tender opening.
| Quantity | Color | Shipment period |
| 35,000 mt firm | white/pink | Within 25 days from the date of purchase order |
| 35,000 mt at RCF’s option | white/pink | June 2021 or as per RCF requirement |
| 35,000 mt at RCF’s option | white/pink | Aug. 2021 or as per RCF requirement |
Earlier this month, BPC was reported to have secured a tender award with FACT for the supply of 80,000 mt of standard red/pink potash for shipment in two lots during first-half July and first-half August. The award was reportedly negotiated at the new India contract price of $280/mt CFR.
China:
To date, no other major supplier has announced publicly if it has settled new supply contracts with customers in China, following BPC’s settlement of a new contract price of $247/mt CFR with the Consortium of Chinese Buyers (Sinochem, CNAMPGC, CNOOC) in February (GM Feb. 12, p. 16).
There has been talk that some Chinese contracts have recently been settled at the new India price level of $280/mt CFR, but this could not be confirmed by press time. As with the original India contract price, many of the major suppliers believed a China contract price of $247/mt CFR was significantly below prevailing market levels for potash in key markets.
China’s imports of potash reached a high of 1.13 million mt in March, some 49 percent above March 2020’s total of 757,937 mt. Imports in the first quarter of 2021 were 21 percent higher, at 2.59 million mt versus the year-ago 2.15 million mt. Belarus and Israel saw the biggest volume gains in the quarter, while Canadian volumes were down 21 percent.
Canada remained the main supplier of MOP, sending 789,000 mt to China during the first quarter. Right behind it was Russia with 696,000 mt, and Belarus with 636,000 mt.
Belarus:
Belaruskali reported that its number four production unit (RU-4) produced 351,841 mt of potash in March, with 307,368 mt shipped for export from the site. The producer did not provide any company-wide output figures for the month or year-to-date, however.
Belaruskali’s potash production reached a record 11.1 million mt in the January-November 2020 period, with full-year output reaching 12.3 million mt (GM Dec. 4, 2020). However, that final 2020 figure has not been confirmed by the producer.
Brazil:
MOP prices moved up in Paranagua about $15/mt, to $340-$365/mt CFR. Producers will talk higher prices at every opportunity, sources said. While prices are not moving as fast as producers would like, sources said there is a definite shift upward in MOP prices from ports to inland distributors.
Rondonopolis prices moved up about $10/mt, to $400-$450/mt FOB ex-warehouse.The barter rate in Rondonopolis is pegged at 12 bags of soy or 58 bags of corn for 1 mt of MOP. In southern Goias, the rate is 22.2 bags of soy or 38.3 bags of corn.
South Korea:
First-quarter MOP imports this year were down 4.5 percent, according to Trade Data Monitor, to 189,000 mt from 197,000 mt in 2020.March imports showed essentially no change, with both 2021 and 2020 each showing about 43,000 mt of imports.