Central Florida: With winter firmly gripping most of the country – not really a surprise in January – phosphate sales out of Central Florida were rare last week.
Producers were still asking $480/st FOB for DAP, but unlike the previous week, traders were bench warming and nearly out of the game due to the lack of activity and the reduction in possible profits. Some were still buying on the river system and using trucks to meet customer needs in the East.
The price of phosphate in Florida continued to be way out of the norm in relation to the NOLA DAP barge market. NOLA values were as much as $40/st FOB lower than Central Florida, which should be about $25/st FOB lower than the river.
One source noted that there has been a fall-off of interest from growers, so dealers were holding off on their orders. “They will need fertilizer (with 96 million acres of corn to be planted this year), and it’s going to be a real mess trying to get it to them when they start,” he said.
The Central Florida DAP market continued level last week at a flat $480/st FOB. Very large buyers may be about to get additional discounts, although that amount was not clear. Both Mosaic and CF Industries were posted at the $480/st FOB mark. MAP was at a $20/st premium to DAP by Mosaic in Central Florida, which was about the same difference as from traders. MAP continued to be in short supply.
PCS Sales was selling at comparable prices to the market.
U.S. Gulf: After the market yo-yoed following the Christmas Holiday, prices began to level off last week. With little in the way of new transactions, the price of a NOLA DAP barge drifted south.
Mosaic, which cut production on the river and somewhat in Central Florida, was not participating in the NOLA DAP barge market last week due to low prices. Mosaic was sticking to its posted price of $480/st FOB Central Florida. That level was not likely to attract buyers, who could get the product for as much as $40/st FOB less.
Terminals were also seeing less activity last week, as dealers were waiting for farmers to come in and place some orders. Most dealers still had product in their bins and didn’t want to buy if the price might go down even more.
Corn future prices went down last week compared to the previous week, drifting from $5.6175/bushel to $5.53/bushel for December 2012. The corn price for December 2013 was $5.466/bushel, down from $5.50/bushel the previous reporting period. Soybeans for November 2012 were a little higher as well, at $11.91/bushel from $11.8825/bushel the previous week, while beans for November 2013 were $11.815/bushel, up from $11.61/bushel the previous week. Wheat for July 2012 fell to $6.3925 from $6.455/bushel previously. Wheat for July 2013 was listed at $7.0775/bushel last week, up from $7.0375/bushel a week earlier.
The NOLA DAP barge price settled to $440-$450/st FOB last week, down from the previous week’s range of $450-$490/st FOB. MAP was fetching a better price and was more than $35/st FOB over the price of DAP. The market may remain depressed for the next few weeks, but prices should begin to rise in February when farmers start to empty dealers’ warehouses. Then, the problem may shift to logistics and how to get that much product to dealers in a short span of time.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP remained at $510-$530/st FOB regional warehouses, with MAP pegged in the $530-$550/st FOB range. The 10-34-0 market was pegged at $740-$750/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt region.
Western Cornbelt: DAP was pegged at $515-$530/st FOB warehouse in the Western Cornbelt, with the low reported in the Iowa market. MAP was quoted at $535-$555/st FOB, and was in tight supply in some locations. “We can’t keep it in, and guys won’t switch