Central Florida:
Central Florida market players reported DAP truck pricing at $630/st FOB for the week, unmoved from the prior report. MAP trucks were also posted at $630, steady compared to one week earlier.
MAP trucks loading from North Florida were quoted even with Central Florida at $630/st FOB.
US Gulf:
Players reported neutral-to-firm movement on the NOLA barge phosphate market during the week. DAP barges narrowed within their week-ago range, while low-end MAP prices lifted higher.
Trading of domestically-produced DAP barges was quoted at $610/st FOB, off $5/st from the product’s $615/st FOB week-ago high, while imported DAP pricing was referenced at a $600/st FOB floor, above the prior $595/st FOB bottom. Offers for domestic product were quoted at $610/st FOB.
Most of the week’s action was reportedly concentrated at locations north of NOLA. “It has been dead this week on phosphates unless it is upriver,” said one source. Players reported bidding for upriver DAP barges at a $615/st FOB NOLA-equivalent.
DAP paper bidding for April loading was noted at $560/st FOB. May paper offers reported at $570/st FOB were met with $550/st FOB bids, sources said.
Sources called price ideas for domestically-produced MAP unchanged from the recent $575/st FOB high, while trading and offers of imported material tracked above the week-ago $555/st FOB low at $565/st FOB.
DAP barges were noted in a $600-$610/st FOB range for the period, narrowing from $595-$615/st FOB in the prior report. MAP barges firmed from the week-ago $555-$575/st FOB to $565-$575/st FOB, sources said.
US Imports:
July-January DAP imports totaled 370,857 st, off 55.7% from the year-ago 836,549 st. January imports were down 84.9%, to 12,937 st from the prior 85,827 st.
Saudi Arabia imports for July-January totaled 218,741 st. Australia sent 119,060 st, followed by 24,668 st from Russia.
July-January MAP/Other imports rose 4.8% year-over-year, to 604,657 st from 576,780 st. January imports were 145,182 st, up 299.7% from the year-ago 36,320 st.
July-January imports from Russia were counted at 215,644 st, ahead of 149,551 st from Saudi Arabia and 102,962 st from Australia. Mexico added 86,164 st.
US Exports:
DAP exports were up 25.0% in July-January, lifting to 482,260 st from the year-ago 385,805 st. January cargoes were counted at 43,982 st, however, off by 15.4% compared to 52,014 st reported one year earlier.
MAP/Other exports fell 2.2% in July-January, to 1.2 million st from the year-ago 1.23 million st. Shipments totaled 214,491 st for January, down 5.7% from 227,342 st.
Nothing new was reported on the US Gulf phosphate export market, leaving last-done spot levels at $635/mt FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt:
DAP remained at $670-$680/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low confirmed at Cincinnati. The Ottawa, Ill., DAP market was pegged at the $675/st FOB level for the latest offers. MAP was steady at $625-$650/st FOB, with the upper end out of inland warehouses and the low confirmed at both Cincinnati and Ottawa.
Western Cornbelt:
DAP was quoted at $660-$680/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the St. Louis market unchanged at $660-$670/st FOB. MAP slipped to $615-$660/st FOB in the region, with St. Louis pricing pegged in the $615-$625/st FOB range, down $5/st from last week.
Southern Plains:
DAP was quoted at $675-$685/st FOB in the Southern Plains, with the low at Houston and the high at Catoosa/Inola. MAP pricing dropped to $620/st FOB Houston and $635-$645/st FOB Catoosa/Inola.
South Central:
DAP prices dropped slightly to $670-$690/st FOB in the South Central region, down $5-$10/st, with the low in Kentucky and the high in Arkansas. The Memphis DAP market was pegged at $680-$685/st FOB, down $10/st from late February.
Southeast:
MAP pricing from Nutrien was steady at $630/st FOB Aurora, N.C., and White Springs, Fla.
China:
Sources put the Chinese DAP price at $605-$610/mt FOB, representing a slight dip in pricing for the month, while the price at the factory gates was put at $580-$600/mt ex-plant. The price changes echoed softening seen in other phosphate markets.
India:
The Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF) DAP tender, calling for 100,000 mt to be evenly divided between an East Coast port and a West Coast port, closed on March 13. Sun International reportedly offered Saudi material at $614/mt CFR, while the Indian buyer countered at $610/mt CFR. No response was reported as Green Markets went to press.
The Sun offer was already below the market’s last-done $625/mt CFR spot deal, and represents where traders have reported the market to be moving for quite some time. The tender will provide a benchmark for both future spot deals and contract negotiations.
Brazil:
The MAP market tightened to $630-$645/mt CFR. Buyers continue to argue that prices need to fall to a sub-$600/mt CFR level. International traders also expected prices to dip below $600/mt CFR soon.
The Rondonopolis market was pegged at $740-$770/mt FOB ex-warehouse, with the bulk of deals reported at the upper end of the range. Aggressive buyers continued to hold firm at the $740/mt mark, however, slightly softening the market compared to recent weeks.
Lithuania:
Phosphate fertilizer company AB Lifosa has once again stopped production at its Kėdainiai production facilities, according to Lithuanian news portal Rinkos aikŝte, citing Lifosa spokesperson Indré Mažeikiené. Production was halted on Feb. 22 for an indefinite period.
The company was reported having issues settling payments with raw materials suppliers. Payment delays, attributable to lengthy procedures for verifying financial transactions related to sanctions, were cited.
Lifosa produces approximately 1 million mt/y of DAP.