U.S. Gulf:
NOLA granular urea prices edged down a bit, falling to $495-$525/st FOB compared to the week-ago $505-$530/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Urea pricing was reported at $550-$570/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location, with the Cincinnati, Ohio, market pegged at the $565/st FOB level at midweek.
Western Cornbelt:
Urea prices were quoted at $535-$560/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, down from the prior week’s $550-$570/st FOB range, with the low confirmed at St. Louis, Mo. The Catoosa/Inola, Okla., and St. Paul, Minn., urea markets both fell in the $545-$555/st FOB range during the week.
California:
Urea pricing in California was quoted at $710-$760/st FOB port terminals for bulk tons, although reference prices remained as high as $900/st FOB Stockton for bagged product. Rail-DEL urea sales in California were reported as low as $625/st for limited spot sales in early July.
Pacific Northwest:
The urea market was pegged at $595-$600/st FOB in the Pacific Northwest, down roughly $20/st from last report, with the low at Rivergate, Ore. Rail-DEL pricing fell in the $610-$625/st range in the region in early July.
Western Canada:
Urea pricing in Western Canada was confirmed at C$885-$890/mt FOB for July-September tons, up from the initial June fill pricing offers at C$785-$825/mt FOB. Delivered urea fell in the C$850-$870/mt range for August-September shipments, up from C$785-$820/mt in mid-June.
India:
The industry is still waiting for word of the next urea tender. Sources said the call might now happen in the second week of July. To keep up with demand, sources said awards from the tender will have to bring in at least 1.5 million mt.
Sources said traders are beginning to line up tons from major suppliers in anticipation of the tender. The latest notice from China about further restrictions on urea exports has forced traders to look to the Arab Gulf, North Africa, and Indonesia for cargoes.
A tender called by RCF will close on July 25. The tender appears to be connected to the three-year deal signed with OMIFCO for shipments of 1 million mt during each year of the agreement. The tender calls for the winner to ship at least two cargoes of 40,000 mt each month through January 2025, with one going to an East Coast port and the other to a West Coast port.
The government began singing the praises of “nano urea” as a way of reducing India’s dependence on urea imports. In statements released this week, government officials said once the eight nano urea plants are up and running in 2025, India will have no need to import urea.
According to patent holder IIFCO, a 500 ml bottle of nano urea can provide the equivalent nutrient value of a 45-kg bag of granular urea.
China:
Earlier rumors that more urea export restrictions were coming appear to have come true. Sources said major urea producers were approached in the past several weeks and asked to stop exporting urea to the global market for the next month or two.
Even before this latest request by the government, urea exports from China were limited. Customs officials had begun to slow-walk applications for exports. At the same time, the officials were forbidding companies to engage in swaps of product – a common industry practice – if the necessary tonnage was not ready at an export warehouse in time.
The urea that has been shipped recently has either been tied to long-term contracts or to the most recent Indian tender. Prices based on the domestic market are quoted at $560/mt FOB. Sources said, however, the public basis price is still being worked off the last Indian tender at $685-$690/mt FOB.
Middle East:
Traders are said to be spending more time wooing Arab Gulf producers to secure tons for the upcoming Indian tender. Sources said reports that urea exports from China will be further restricted have forced traders to look elsewhere.
Sources said the tons moving out of the region are either long-term contracts or cargoes related to the previous Indian tender. Prices being quoted under the former are now reported at $580/mt FOB, with some business reportedly done at $620/mt FOB. The price based on the Indian tender remains at $685-$690/mt FOB.
Egyptian sources reported a small dip in pricing. Helwan reportedly sold 3,000 mt of granular urea to an unnamed buyer at $730/mt FOB. The price is $10/mt lower than deals worked out in the last week of June.
Indonesia:
More material was sold at a steady price. Sources reported that 70,000 mt of granular urea was sold for July shipment at $547/mt FOB. This is the same price used for cargoes booked in late June, also for July shipment.
Thailand:
January-May imports of urea were reported at 647,000 mt by Trade Data Monitor. This is down about 27% from the 888,000 mt imported during the same period in 2021.
May 2022 imports were reported at 130,000 mt, down 72% from the 467,000 mt imported in May 2021. The main suppliers were Saudi Arabia with 79,000 mt and Malaysia with 24,000 mt.
Brazil:
The landed urea price remained steady at $650-$680/mt CFR. Sources said sellers are pushing prices closer to $700/mt CFR, but buyers are being just as aggressive in pushing back. Some international traders have reported sales at $700/mt CFR, but without any details.
The Rondonópolis market showed a slightly wider spread at $780-$820/mt FOB ex-warehouse. Buyers are reportedly holding back on any additional purchases as they assess global market trends.
Imports for the first half of the calendar year were reported at 3.1 million mt by Trade Data Monitor, down about 11% from the 3.5 million mt imported during the first semester of 2021. Increased imports from Oman reflected OMIFCO making product available for the global market after years of only being able to sell to India. More material available from the new Dangote facility was also seen in the large increase in product from Nigeria.
| Supplying Country | Quantity (mt) | |
| Jan-June 2022 | Jan-June 2021 | |
| Oman | 713,000 | 634,000 |
| Nigeria | 604,000 | 226,000 |
| Qatar | 565,000 | 937,000 |
| Russia | 488,000 | 770,000 |
| Algeria | 305,000 | 366,000 |
Second-quarter 2022 imports were reported at 1.47 million mt, just marginally down from the 1.51 million mt imported during the same period of 2021.
June 2022 imports were reported at 523,000 mt, down from the 621,000 mt imported in June 2021. Oman accounted for 49% of the June imports with 219,000 mt. Qatar supplied 83,000 mt for 16% of the import market, followed by Russia with 75,000 mt for 14% of imports.
Black Sea:
The opaque nature of urea deals out of the area make nailing down prices difficult. Sources now estimate the price of prilled urea out of Russia is at $500-$540/mt FOB.
Compared to the reported prices out of China and the Arab Gulf, this price is a bit lower than calculations would predict. However, there are reports that Russian suppliers are offering urea at below-market rates to encourage buyers to work around the U.S. and E.U. sanctions on Russia.