U.S. Gulf/Tampa:
Tampa anhydrous ammonia for January was concluded at $1,115/mt CFR, up from December’s $990/mt CFR. Market players had argued other recent international business should equate to at least $1,100 mt CFR at Tampa.
Cornbelt:
Sources reported a slow year-end buying pace after the hectic fall application season. Offers for prompt and spring prepay ammonia remained unchanged in the Cornbelt.
India:
Sources said buyers have been approaching traders and producers looking for extra tons of ammonia for delivery during the first quarter of 2022. The stepped-up increase, said one trader, appears to be tied to the large purchases of phos acid India made in the last quarter of 2021.
Middle East:
Ammonia supplies from the Arab Gulf remain tight. Sources said casual inquiries by traders and end users were deflected until after the new year begins. One trader said even serious offers to buy were being put off.
Iranian exports of ammonia for January-November 2021 were reported at 517,000 mt, down 8.8 percent from the same period in 2020, according to Trade Data Monitor. The main buyers for the first 11 months of 2021 were India at 344,000 mt and China at 89,000 mt.
November 2021 exports of 43,000 mt were up from the November 2020 exports of 16,000 mt. As with the rest of the year, India and China dominated the buying.
China:
Reduction in phosphate production and exports appears to have had an impact on ammonia imports in China. Trade Data Monitor reported January-November imports at 780,000 mt, down 25 percent from the 1.04 million mt imported during the same period in 2020.
The main suppliers to China were from Asia, with Indonesia sending 309,000 mt and Malaysia shipping 106,000 mt to China. Saudi Arabia was the second-largest supplier at 155,000 mt.
November 2021 imports of 26,000 mt were down about 78 percent compared to the 114,000 mt imported in November 2020.
Thailand:
January-November 2021 ammonia imports in Thailand were reported at 377,000 mt, up 28 percent from the 294,000 imported during the same period in 2020, according to Trade Data Monitor. Malaysia dominated the imports at 227,000 mt.
November imports were also dramatically higher at 22,000 mt, compared with 4,000 mt in November 2020. A history of ammonia imports indicated the first and fourth quarters of each year are the slow periods for imports. Purchases are expected to pick up in the second quarter of 2022.