All posts by hlancey@bloomberg.net

India Takes Delivery of Largest-Ever Fert Vessel

India, News Briefs

Indian Potash Ltd.  (IPL) has taken delivery of India’s first fertilizer ship to date to have transported more than 100,000 mt of fertilizer to the country.

The Patricia Oldendorff, loaded with 100,280 mt of Moroccan DAP, discharged at Adani Mundra Port on India’s northwest coast in less than four days, according to a Dec. 4 report by South Asian news agency ANI News, citing IPL Managing Director Parvinder Singh Gahlaut.

OCP Group SA reported last month that it had set a new loading record at the port of Jorf Lasfar on Oct. 24 with the loading of the Patricia Oldendorff with “more than 100,000 mt” of cargo for discharge in India (GM Nov. 17, p. 30).

JPMC Inks MOU for Phosphate Feed Additives Plant

Jordan, News Briefs, Phosphate, Phosphoric Acid, Saudi Arabia

Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. (JPMC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Amman-based Sinokrot Poultry Farms and Saudi Arabia’s Poultry & Dairy Technology Trading Co. to establish a plant for the production of phosphate feed additives in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba.

Under the MOU, the three parties agreed to establish a plant to produce monocalcium phosphate (MCP) and dicalcium phosphate (DCP) with a production capacity of up to 100,000 mt annually at a cost of JD15 million (approximately $21.2 million at current exchange rates), according to the Jordan news agency Petra, citing a JPMC press release.

JPMC will supply the phosphoric acid to the planned production facility under a long-term contract.

JPMC Chairman Mohammad Thneibat said the MOU comes within the framework of the company’s plan to “focus on manufacturing industries, create new products with high market value, build more partnerships in this field, as well as contribute to supporting national endeavors to reduce unemployment by creating new job opportunities for Jordanians.”

Musa Ahmed Abu Abed, CEO of Saudi Poultry & Dairy Technology Trading Co., said the new plant constitutes a “qualitative” addition to the animal production industry sector in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Rovensa Acquires Agro-K

News Briefs, Spain

Rovensa Group, Madrid, Spain, a global player in agricultural inputs for sustainable agriculture, announced the acquisition of US-based Agro-K, a family-owned biostimulants developer.

Founded in 1976 in Minneapolis, Agro-K has been a pioneer in the development of biostimulants and specialty nutritional products for horticultural and field crops. Agro-K, which has an extensive portfolio of products, will be integrated over time into Rovensa Next, the business unit dedicated to Rovensa’s biosolutions for agriculture.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Agro-K into Rovensa,” said Javier Calleja, Rovensa CEO. “This acquisition is an important strategic step towards achieving our ambition of becoming the leading biosolutions player in the US, marketing a full spectrum of solutions nationwide.”

“Both businesses are highly complementary and share a common go-to-market approach, the vision of an increasingly sustainable agriculture and the concern for people and society at large, which will contribute towards a swift integration and a successful joint value creation journey,” Calleja said.

First Phosphate, Lithium Australia Ink MOU

Canada, News Briefs, Phosphate

Junior miner First Phosphate Corp., Saguenay, Quebec, on Dec. 6 announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Lithium Australia Ltd. (LIT), Kew, Victoria, for the potential development of a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) cathode active material (CAM) manufacturing plant in North America.

LIT has developed proprietary technology to produce LFP/LMFP CAM through its wholly-owned subsidiary VSPC Pty Ltd. LIT is seeking a partner to support the commercialization of its technology through the development, construction, and operation of a demonstration plant and an eventual commercial scale manufacturing facility. The MOU would consider demo and commercial plants in Queensland, Australia, or in North America.

“This agreement could provide First Phosphate with an important technology avenue for the production of LFP CAM for certain clients of LIT and the company as well as serve as an important offtake for the company’s future purified phosphoric acid (PPA) production,” said First Phosphate CEO John Passalacqua.

The term of the MOU is two years commencing on the date of signing, or such later date as is agreed in writing between the parties.

ALEEES, IFFCO Sign LFP MOU

China, Jordan, Lithium, News Briefs, U.S.

Advanced Lithium Electrochemistry (Aleees-Taiwan), a subsidiary of lithium intellectual property service provider Aleees-Ky, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd. (IFFCO) to explore the transfer of technology authorized by Aleees to IFFCO to produce and build lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cathode material plants in India and Jordan.

The companies said the project would eliminate the risk that multinational customers would have to rely on China.

Aleees and IFFCO are also exploring opportunities to build factories in Jordan with end customers. They said since Jordan and the US have signed a free trade agreement, the LFP produced by the Jordanian factory will be supplied to the US market, and end customers can obtain high subsidies and tax credit from the US Inflation Reduction Act.

IFFCO said it is already the largest single buyer of Jordanian phosphates. It also noted that it, along with JPMorgan Chase have established a joint venture project worth $860 million in Jordan for the production of phosphoric acid.

OCP Signs UN Climate Change Call to Action

Green Ammonia, Green Hydrogen, News Briefs, Phosphate, United Kingdom

OCP Group SA has signed the “UN Climate Change High-Level Champions Call to Action for Transforming Food Systems for People, Nature, and Climate.” The Moroccan phosphate producer said it signed the Call to Action on the eve of the start of COP28 meeting in Dubai, UAE, which is scheduled for Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.

“Through this endorsement, OCP recognizes the urgent need to drive a just, global agricultural transition to transform our food system into one that is resilient, fair, and sustainable,” the company said. “We need to radically change the way we farm to achieve zero hunger while combatting climate change, managing our impact on nature and the environment, and supporting local communities.”

OCP is targeting investment of $13 billion by 2027 in a Green Investment Programme, which includes solar and wind projects that will enable the group to run 100% of its operations on renewable energy by 2027 and produce the green hydrogen and green ammonia that OCP needs to reach full carbon neutrality by 2040.

Egyptian Firms Partner on Green Fertilizer Plant

Egypt, News Briefs, NPK, South Africa

Egypt’s Elsewedy Industrial Development signed an agreement on Dec. 1 with New Cairo-based Futurefert, operator of a granular NPK fertilizer plant, to spearhead the development of a green fertilizer plant, according to a report by South Africa’s Energy, Capital & Power.

The agreement was signed at the COP28 meeting in Dubai, UAE. No further details of the proposed project were immediately available.

The Futurefert plant, located in the SIDC Industrial Zone inside the Suez-Canal Economic Zone, was built and launched in 2019 by the UAE’s Amana Group.

Elsewedy Industrial Development manages the entire development life cycle of industrial projects, starting from the acquisition of land plots to post-operation community management, according to the company’s website.

Azomureş Halts Production Months After Starting

Ammonia, Europe, Natural Gas, News Briefs

Romania’s biggest fertilizer producer, Azomureş SA, has announced a halt to ammonia and fertilizer production for December, just two months after resuming operations. The producer cited a nearly 40% rise in natural gas costs and a lack of government action, according to a report by the Romania Journal, citing a company statement.

Azomureş reported in September that it would resume fertilizer production in October after concluding contracts for the purchase of natural gas (GM Sept. 29, p. 1). The gas deal allowed for the restart of one of the company’s ammonia plants and the resumption of fertilizer production at 50% of total capacity at the Târgu Mureș production site.

In its Dec. 8 statement, Azomureş said that despite ample gas reserves in the region, the European gas market remains “significantly more expensive” than other industrialized parts of the world.

The company also blamed state authorities for natural gas policies, citing an oversupply of subsidized gas in Romania. It said despite a significant surplus of natural gas traded by Transgaz, Romania’s national gas transmission system operator, the additional gas is not made available to the market because major producers are not allowed to reallocate it to industrial customers like Azomureş.

The suspension of the company’s operations could have a negative impact on both the industry and agriculture in Romania, according to Azomureş CEO Josh Zacharias. He projected a 3% reduction in profitability for Romanian farmers due to the multiplier effect of input purchases, plus the taxed income from crop sales.

Azomureş has two ammonia units, Ammonia III and Ammonia IV, and it was Ammonia III that restarted. The company’s total production capacity is 1.6 million mt/y, with 80-85% of output typically sold to the Romanian agricultural market.

Ammonia

Ammonia, Black Sea, Brazil, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Middle East, Northern Plains, Northwestern Europe, Tampa, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

US Gulf/Tampa:

Tampa ammonia was unchanged at $625/mt CFR for December, with NOLA pricing indications remaining at a Tampa equivalent.

Eastern Cornbelt:

Although some industry sources expected an ammonia reset during the week from the first round of spring prepay offers, no programs were announced as the week came to a close, leaving the last prompt spot business unchanged at $725-$750/st FOB regional terminals. The expectation now is for spring prepay prices to be launched at mid-month.

Western Cornbelt:

The ammonia market remained at $715-$725/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low in Nebraska and the high in Iowa and Missouri. With fall application still underway in parts of the region, no spring prepay programs were launched in early December. Sources said they expect the initial offers to appear in mid-December, however.

Northern Plains:

Ammonia in the Northern Plains slipped to $650/st FOB regional terminals for the last prompt fall business, down from the prior $750-$775/st FOB level, with delivered tons reportedly dropping to the $700-$750/st level from the previous $825-$850/st DEL. Sources reported a heavy fall ammonia run in the region, thanks to mild fall temperatures in November.

The first spring prepay ammonia offers were expected to be announced late this week or early next week, sources said.

Middle East: 

While no new spot deals were reported from the Middle East, sources pegged discussions for new business at $480-$500/mt FOB, a sizeable drop from the previous $550/mt FOB done more than one month ago.

Contract business has dominated the area due to weak demand from spot buyers. Even with softening price ideas, sales are rare. Ongoing production and limited demand are expected to keep prices under pressure.

Iran exported 550,000 mt of ammonia in January-November, Trade Data Monitor reported,up 12% from the 490,000 mt shipped through the first 11 months of 2022. November exports were 39,000 mt, down 46% from 71,000 mt in November 2022. India was the month’s largest buyer, taking 37,000 mt.

Northwest Europe:  

The production cost of ammonia in Northwest Europe has reportedly settled at $500/mt ex-plant, roughly equating to $600-$610/mt CFR at terminals. No new deals were reported, however, as most business in the area was for contracted material rather than spot.

Brazil:

Trade Data Monitor reported January-November ammonia imports of 281,000 mt, a 27% decline from the year-ago 387,000 mt. January-November exports were 48,000 mt, off from the 81,000 mt shipped in January-November 2022.

Brazil became an occasional exporter of ammonia in 2022, as the country’s supply fluctuates with its industrial needs. One cargo of Brazilian ammonia is typically offered on the global market every 2-3 months. While the country sent out 40 mt in November, Brazil exported 15,000 mt in November 2022.

Imports were noted at 35,000 mt in November. The US supplied 21,000 mt for the month, followed by Trinidad and Tobago with 14,000 mt.

Black Sea:     

Uralchem is no longer confident it will have the ammonia pipeline into the new port facilities at Taman completed in time, sources said. The company also downgraded the expected capacity of both the pipeline and port operations, from 1 million mt/y to 500,000 mt/y through 2024 and into 2025.

The port, located in the eastern Black Sea, is being built up to replace the facilities in Ukraine that are now inaccessible to Russian ammonia producers. The pipeline into Ukraine and the Odessa port facilities were closed due to the war in Ukraine, halting ammonia shipments.