US Gulf:
NOLA ammonium sulfate barges continued to be called $400-$410/st FOB, with sellers quoting $415/st FOB for the next round of business.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The granular ammonium sulfate market was steady at $460-$480/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location. Cincinnati pricing was quoted in the $465-$475/st FOB range at mid-month, with the Ottawa, Ill., market pegged firmly at the $470/st FOB level.
Western Cornbelt:
Granular ammonium sulfate pricing was quoted at $440-$460/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low confirmed at St. Louis. The Caruthersville market was reported at the $450/st FOB level at midweek.
Southern Plains:
Granular ammonium sulfate was pegged at $450-$470/st FOB in the Southern Plains, with the low confirmed at Houston and the high at Catoosa/Inola.
South Central:
Ammonium sulfate pricing was quoted at $440-$450/st FOB in the South Central region, down $10/st at the upper end of the range, with the low confirmed at Memphis and the high in Arkansas.
Southeast:
Ammonium sulfate prices FOB Hopewell, Va., remained at $450/st FOB for granular, $410/st FOB for mid-grade, and $390/st FOB for standard. Pricing in the Florida market was reported at $395/st FOB/DEL for standard and $505/st FOB/DEL for granular.
China:
Demand is stepping up, largely because European buyers are looking for a cheaper substitute for urea. Reportedly, talks are now focusing on $230-$250/mt FOB for caprolactam-grade amsul. So far, no deals have been reported.
Exports to European countries from China jumped to 113,000 mt in January-August 2022, up from 54,000 mt during the same period in 2021, according to Trade Data Monitor.
Total exports for January-August 2022 were reported at 7 million mt, up 11% from the 6.3 million mt exported during the same period in 2021. Sources said the increase is not surprising. Amsul was not included in the export restrictions affecting urea and other fertilizers. Buyers looking for nitrogen for their blending operations stepped away from Chinese urea and moved to ammonium sulfate because no extra permissions from the government were required to close the deals.
Brazil dominated the purchases of Chinese amsul for the period with 1.8 million mt, for 24% of all exports. Vietnam came in second with 783,000 mt, for 19% of the market. Turkey took a large leap in imports to 604,000 mt, up from 310,000 mt during the same period in 2021.
August exports were reported at 1.3 million mt against the 645,000 mt exported during August 2021. Brazil took almost half of the exports at 653,000 mt. The remaining 55 customers took the remaining 681,000 mt.
Brazil:
Limited sales put the ammonium sulfate price at $300-$320/mt CFR. The slight uptick in the upper end of the range could be an indicator that growing demand from Europe for Chinese amsul is beginning to have an impact on the Brazilian market.
Rondonopolis pricing was reported at $430-$470/mt FOB ex-warehouse. People will be watching to see how the shifts in urea pricing affects the amsul market, especially with the blenders.