U.S. Imports:
Imports of ammonium nitrate were up 87.3 percent in August, to 17,943 st from 9,582 st in August 2020. July-August totals jumped 147.5 percent, to 52,121 st from the year-ago 21,063 st.
U.S. Exports:
Ammonium nitrate exports were down 30.8 percent for the July-August period, to 85,074 st from the year-ago 122,906 st. August exports totaled 46,504 st, falling 31.1 percent year-over-year from 67,530 st.
Western Cornbelt:
The last ammonium nitrate offers were pegged at $440-$450/st FOB in Missouri and $455/st rail-DEL in the Midwest.
Southern Plains:
The ammonium nitrate market was reported at the $435/st level FOB Catoosa/Inola in early October.
South Central:
The last ammonium nitrate business was reported at $400/st FOB Yazoo City, Miss., and $410/st FOB Shreveport, La., but no current offers were on the table in early October.
Southeast:
The Tampa ammonium nitrate market remained at the $400/st FOB level for the last reported business, but speculation about where the next offers will land ranged from $500-$800/st as the week progressed.
France:
Yara issued a new list price on Oct. 4 for November deliveries of ammonium nitrate 33.5 (YaraBelaExtran33.5) in France. The new price is set at €590/mt bulk CPT, up €75/mt from Yara’s Sept. 27 price of €515/mt, which was pulled a couple days after its release (GM Oct. 1, p. 9).
Romania:
The country’s sole fertilizer producer, Azomures, is currently operating at just 50 percent of capacity at its Târgu Mureș production site, amid costly and scarce natural gas supplies, according to a report by Romania Insider, citing Profit.ro, which in turn cited Azomures executives.
According to Profit.ro, the price of gas contracts on the Romanian Commodity Exchange with delivery in November and the first quarter of 2022 has soared to RON400 (approximately $93 at current exchange rates ) per MWh, a record level for the Romanian market.