All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

DAP/MAP

Brazil, Central Florida, China, DAP/MAP, Eastern Cornbelt, India, Market Watch, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Central, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Exports, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

Central Florida:

DAP trucks loading from Central Florida were posted at $640/st FOB for the week, firming from $620/st FOB. Truck-loaded MAP moved to $670/st FOB, a $15/st increase on the week-ago $655/st FOB.

MAP loading from North Florida firmed to $670/st FOB, up from the week-ago $655/st FOB.

U.S. Gulf:

Tight DAP and MAP inventories throughout the U.S. system translated to expanding prices for the week, players indicated.

Loaded DAP barges were reported changing hands at $670/st FOB early in the week before firmed to $673/st FOB on Sept. 16, sources said, rising from the prior week’s $652/st FOB high. Fresh price postings from domestic producers were reported at $635/st FOB, below the week-ago $640/st FOB floor. Availability was described as extremely limited at the bottom of the range, as sellers prioritized the fulfillment of preexisting orders over new sales.

MAP values also pressed higher, with sources quoting $710/st FOB business at the top of the range, a $25/st jump from the prior $685/st FOB ceiling. Domestic offers were posted at $665/st FOB, slipping from the week-ago $670/st FOB floor.

NOLA DAP values were pegged in a wide $635-$673/st FOB range for the week, moving from $640-$652/st FOB at last report. Sources quoted NOLA MAP barges at $665-$710/st FOB, compared with last week’s $670-$685/st FOB range.

U.S. Exports:

Sources reported no new transactions on the Gulf export phosphate markets, leaving last done at $660/mt FOB for DAP and $685/mt FOB for MAP.

Eastern Cornbelt:

DAP prices were reported at $670-$710/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, up another $15-$30/st from last week, depending on location. Sources quoted the high end of the range for new offers out of spot Illinois River terminals, while the Cincinnati DAP market was generally reported in the $670-$685/st FOB range during the week.

The MAP market was reported in a broad range at $720-$775/st FOB in the region, up dramatically from the previous week’s $700-$720/st FOB range. While the upper end of the range was once again reported on the Illinois River, the Cincinnati MAP market was pegged at $720-$735/st FOB at midweek.

Western Cornbelt:

DAP pricing was reported in a broad range at $685-$725/st FOB St. Louis and Dubuque, Iowa, with the Caruthersville market pegged at a solid $705/st FOB at midweek.

MAP was quoted at $725-$770/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, up some $45/st at the top end of the range, with the St. Louis market covering a broad range at $725-$760/st FOB during the week.

Southern Plains:

The DAP market jumped to $700-$725/st FOB Catoosa/Inola, up some $40/st from the previous week and $60-$80/st higher than prices in late August. MAP surged to $730-$770/st FOB Catoosa/Inola, with the Houston market pegged at $730/st FOB for MAP and $690/st FOB for DAP at midweek.

South Central:

DAP pricing jumped to a broad range at $670-$725/st FOB in the South Central region, with the low confirmed at Memphis and the high at Shreveport. Kentucky sources pegged the common price at the $700/st level FOB Ohio River terminals at midweek, while the market FOB Little Rock had reportedly strengthened to the $720/st level.

Southeast:

Posted prices at Aurora, N.C., and White Springs, Fla., reportedly firmed to $670/st FOB for MAP during the week, up another $15/st from early September and $30/st higher than late August reference prices. Sources pegged the latest DAP price at $680/st FOB Aurora, but Nutrien reported no DAP tons available there for the foreseeable future.

Saudi Arabia:

Phosphate values were noted moving up at Saudi Arabia, with market sources reporting cargoes in the $630-$645/mt FOB range for the week, rising from $625-$645/mt FOB in the prior report.

China:

Production of DAP and MAP is expected to be affected by as much as 40 percent following a move by the Yunnan provincial government to have companies cut back on phos rock production.

At the same time, environmental inspectors have been hitting DAP/MAP producers with penalties. Sources said two plants in Hubei were shut down after inspectors issued violations for excessive gypsum levels. More modern plants, such as those operated by YUC and Xiangfeng, are not expected to be affected by the cutback in phos rock nor by the environmental inspections.

What could hit those plants, however, are cutbacks in available electricity. The government has told energy suppliers to give priority to residential uses over industrial customers. With winter coming, sources said the government wants to make sure there is enough heat and light for homes. There was a similar diversion away from the plants in the summer to ensure enough power to run home air conditioners.

Prices remain steady, and export possibilities are still up in the air. The government has included DAP and MAP in its directives to producers to ensure a plentiful supply for the domestic market at low rates. The current $620-$635/mt FOB is still seen by many as high. With limited production, strong demand, and ever more expensive inputs, however, there is little expectation that prices will come off.

India:

So far, the Indian government has not moved on raising the maximum retail price for DAP. Sources said any DAP coming in higher than $326/mt CFR will result in a loss for the importer.

International traders said there is a lot of talk from their partners that pressure is being put on the government to provide some sort of subsidy to the importers without affecting the price to the farmers. However, the subsidies for urea and other agricultural products are already taking a major toll on the Indian treasury.

A tender for two lots of DAP held by RCF closed with only a couple of offers. The tender called for one lot of DAP to be shipped in mid-October and a second in mid-November. Ameropa reportedly only offered on the October lot at $674/mt CFR with open sourcing. Agrifields offered at the same price for the October shipment plus $678/mt CFR for the November cargo, both with material from OCP.

Reportedly, Ameropa was given the award for the October shipment and Agrifields for the November lot. The award moved the market price for September-October to $666-$674/mt CFR.

RCF also held a tender for two lots of 20,000 mt each of either GMAP (10-50-0) or DAP lite. Only Agrifields offered at $715/mt CFR for 20,000 mt of GMAP to be shipped in October, and $734/mt CFR of the same product for November.

Normally, RCF would have scrapped the GMAP tender because only one company offered. A trader said the fact they went ahead and awarded to Agrifields showed how desperate the NPK producers are for the product.

Brazil:

Paranagua MAP prices edged higher to $700-$725/mt CFR. Sources said the price increase would have been greater if not for the presence of a cargo from China.

Buyers are desperate for MAP and SSP, the latter being hard to find in any situation. MAP imports appear to be hampered by delays at the ports. Some cargoes reportedly have to wait 30-45 days to berth and unload their cargoes.

Rondonopolis showed a dramatic jump to $832-$950/mt FOB ex-warehouse. Sources said the nearly $100/mt jump in the upper end of the range came because some buyers are willing to move to MAP in the complete absence of SSP in some areas of the country. The barter rate for 1 mt of MAP in Sorriso remains at 100 bags of corn.

Russia:

January-July DAP exports were down 13.6 percent, according to Trade Data Monitor, to 807,000 mt from 934,000 mt during the same period in 2020.July DAP exports were down by more than half, to 69,000 mt from 144,000 mt in July 2020.

January-July MAP exports were up 13 percent, to 1.52 million mt from 1.35 million mt last year. Brazil was the main buyer at 724,000 mt, followed by Estonia at 443,000 mt. However, the Brazilian government reported MAP imports from Russia for the same period at 895,000 mt. Sources said some of the Estonian tons most likely were sent on to Brazil and counted as Russian by the Brazilian authorities.

TSP

Market Watch, South Central, Triple Superphosphate, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf:

Last-done NOLA TSP barges continued to fall in the $555-$565/st FOB range, sources indicated. Sales from upriver terminals indicated netbacks equivalent to $590-$600/st FOB NOLA, however, hinting at likely firming in the next round of business.

Western Cornbelt:

The TSP market had reportedly firmed to a solid $620/st FOB for fall offers in the Western Cornbelt, up some $25/st from last report.

South Central:

The TSP market was quoted at $580-$615/st FOB in the South Central region, up $20/st at the high end of the range, with the low reported at Memphis and the high in Arkansas.

Phosphoric Acid

Eastern Cornbelt, India, Market Watch, Phosphoric Acid, Southern Plains, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

Phos acid prices for September shipment remained at $13.35/unit rail-DEL in Illinois and $13.50/unit rail-DEL in Ohio.

Western Cornbelt:

Phos acid pricing remained at $13.25/unit rail-DEL in Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa for September tons.

Southern Plains:

Phos acid prices as of Sept. 1 were reported at $13.25/unit rail-DEL in Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico, and $13.35/unit rail-DEL in Texas and Louisiana. Those levels were up $0.20/unit from August.

India:

Phosphoric acid contracts for material delivered to India were priced at $1,160/mt P2O5 CFR for the current quarter, a $162/mt increase from $998/mt CFR in the prior period. The pricing was good on tons loading from both Morocco and North America, players confirmed.

Ammonium Polyphosphate

Ammonium Polyphosphate, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Southern Plains, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

The 10-34-0 market was steady at $590-$605/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt for the last offers.

Western Cornbelt:

The 10-34-0 market was quoted at $590-$600/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location.

Southern Plains:

The 10-34-0 market was pegged at $550-$560/st FOB in the Southern Plains, up $20/st from last report, with 11-37-0 pricing in Texas quoted at $600-$610/st FOB.

Muriate of Potash

Brazil, China, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Potash Muriate, Russia, South Central, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf:

New NOLA potash barge trades were reported in the $585-$605/st FOB range, up from the previous $570-$600/st FOB. Product was reported to be quoted at $625/st FOB for the next round of business.

Eastern Cornbelt:

The potash market was pegged at $605-$640/st FOB for prompt tons in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location, with the Cincinnati market reported at $615-$625/st FOB at midweek.

Western Cornbelt:

Potash prices ranged broadly at $590-$650/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location and time of shipment, with the upper end reported at Caruthersville.

Southern Plains:

The Houston potash market had reportedly jumped to $625/st FOB, up $30/st from last report, with pricing at Catoosa/Inola pegged in the $625-$640/st FOB range, up from recent offers in the $575-$610/st FOB range. Intrepid’s last postings FOB Carlsbad, N.M., remained at $620/st for 60 percent white granular and $627/st for 62 percent white standard.

South Central:

The potash market had reportedly firmed to $615-$620/st FOB Memphis, $650/st FOB Little Rock, and up to $660/st FOB Shreveport, reflecting a significant increase from last report.

Southeast:

Potash was quoted at $620/st or higher FOB Wilmington for the last offers, while new pricing FOB Fairless Hills firmed to $630/st for September and $635/st for Q4 tons.

China:

The depletion of potash inventory at China’s ports has slowed in recent weeks, with current levels at 2.045 million mt, according to China Fertilizer Week. This compares with an estimate of “below 2.3 million mt” provided by Jenny Wang, The Mosaic Co.’s Vice President, Global Strategy Marketing, on Aug. 3 (GM Aug. 6, p. 15).

Reports describe China’s domestic potash demand as sluggish since late August, as industrial buying remains offseason and complex fertilizer producers adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude to potash buying. Prices of domestically-produced and imported potash are reported to have weakened as a result

Nutrien Ltd. CFO Pedro Farah, speaking at the RBC Capital Markets Global Industrials Virtual Conference on Sept. 9, said decreasing inventories in China will bring buyers to the negotiating table soon (GM Sept. 10, p. 15). According to Farah, Nutrien has had no sales to China through Canpotex.

Brazil:

The market at Paranagua tightened to $710-$760/mt CFR. Sources said the clamor for product by NPK producers continues to push up prices as limited amounts of MOP enter the ports and find their way to the inland blenders.

Rondonopolis is steady at $830-$884/mt FOB ex-warehouse despite the lack of material. Sources said one explanation is that because everyone knows there is no material, no one is making bids or offers that could artificially inflate the price. The barter rate at Sorriso remains at 100 bags of corn for 1 mt of MOP.

Russia:

January-July 2021 exports of MOP were up 42 percent, to 7.1 million mt from 4.5 million mt during the same period last year, according to Trade Data Monitor. The main buyers this year were Brazil at 1.6 million mt, China at 1.5 million mt, and the U.S. at 767,000 mt.

Brazil reported importing 1.9 million mt of MOP from Russia in January-July 2021. The 200,000 mt discrepancy could easily be seen as a bookkeeping error, said one source.

July exports of 821,000 mt were down 24 percent from the July 2020 total of 1.1 million mt. The main buyers this year were China at 245,000 mt, Brazil at 201,000 mt, and the U.S. at 129,000 mt. The Brazilian government reported July imports from Russia of 352,000 mt

Sulfur

ADNOC - Abu Dhabi, Alberta, Brazil, China, Market Watch, Qatar, Sulfur, Tampa, U.S. Gulf, Vancouver, West Coast

Tampa:

Third-quarter Tampa molten contracts were valued at $195/lt CFR, a $3/lt CFR increase from the prior agreement.

Refinery utilization inched higher in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) most recent report. Operable capacity was noted at 82.1 percent for the week ending Sept. 10, a 0.2-point increase from the week-ago 81.9 percent rate. The rate topped the year-ago 75.8 percent while falling short of the industry’s 84.9 percent five-year average.

Daily crude inputs were also higher, lifting to an average 14.387 million barrels/d for the period, an 85,000 barrel/d jump from 14.302 million barrels/d noted one week earlier.

U.S. Gulf:

Hurricane Nicholas made landfall on the Texas coast as a Category 1 storm on Sept. 14, as the U.S. refining industry continued to recover from Hurricane Ida’s Aug. 29 impact at Louisiana.

Nicholas had much less of an impact than Ida, with minimal production loss reported on Sept. 16. The Colonial Pipeline shut down in the wake of the storm due to a power outage, with the structure’s primary Line 1 gasoline line quickly restarted on Sept. 14.

Motiva’s 607,000 barrel/d plant at Port Arthur maintained operation during the week, according to Reuters. The ExxonMobil Corp. facilities at Baytown and Beaumont also remained in continuous operation. The 302,000 barrel/d Royal Dutch Shell Plc unit at Deer Park was reported operating normally on Sept. 14 despite widespread power outages in the Houston area.

The 225,000 barrel/d Total refinery at Port Arthur was expected to remain partially shut through late September following an unrelated facility-wide outage on Sept. 9.

Over 700,000 barrels/d of Gulf refinery output remained offline for the week, primarily due to Hurricane Ida. Reuters reported that three of nine refineries shut by Ida were still completely offline on Sept. 10, while six had restarted or were in the process of restarting.

The Phillips 66 Alliance plant, located near Belle Chasse, La., suffered extensive damage from Ida. The facility was largely flooded during the storm, with damage so extensive that Phillips is considering permanently mothballing the 250,000 barrel/d plant, Bloomberg reported.

With logistics issues and damage to Louisiana phosphate production facilities contributing to rising sulfur stocks in the U.S. Gulf, sources continued to predict a spike in offshore prill trading in the weeks ahead. Last-done on the market continued in the $173-$181/mt FOB range, with the most recent prices landing toward the upper end of the spread.

Brazil:

Last-done Brazil spot imports continued to be quoted at $210-$216/mt CFR, unmoved from the prior report.

Rising September values from the Middle Eastern markets suggested Brazil pricing in the $230s/mt CFR on monthly deals, sources said. Others argued that rising sulfur stocks in the U.S. Gulf were likely to hold Brazil values in check for the short term.

Third-quarter contracts were reported in the $221-$223/mt CFR range, increasing from $213-$214/mt CFR in the second quarter.

Vancouver:

Vancouver market values remained at $180-$192/mt FOB, sources said, unchanged from the prior report.

Alberta:

Sulfur produced in Alberta netted back at a wide $68-$122/mt FOB to sellers, sources reported. The range included both molten tons contracted into the U.S. market and prilled material selling offshore by way of Vancouver.

West Coast:

Prilled sulfur loading from the West Coast carried price ideas in the $180-$192/mt FOB range. Contracts for the third quarter were reported at $150-$155/lt FOB, above the $140-$155/lt FOB range reported for Q2.

China:

Last-done China spot continued in the $230-$240/mt CFR range for the week, steady from the prior report.

ADNOC:

ADNOC pricing was described at $180/mt FOB Ruwais for loading in September, up $5/mt from August’s $175/mt FOB level.

Qatar:

Qatar solid sulfur was posted at $178/mt FOB Ras Laffan for September loading, sources said, an increase of $14/mt from $164/mt FOB in August.

Sulfuric Acid

Brazil, Gulf Coast, Market Watch, Midwest, Sulfuric Acid, U.S. Gulf, West Coast

U.S. Gulf:

Price ideas on the Gulf sulfuric acid vessel market were steady at $220-$225/mt CFR, sources said, unmoved from the prior report.

Gulf Coast:

Tonnage delivered domestically to the Gulf Coast was reported in the $85-$110/st DEL range for annual agreements.

Midwest:

Midwest pricing for 2021 remained even with the Gulf Coast at $85-$110/st DEL.

West Coast:

Deliveries to the West Coast were heard at $100-$130/st DEL for 2021 contracts.

Brazil:

Sources quoted the recent Brazil sulacid market in the $245-$250/mt CFR range, steady from one week earlier.

Ammonium Thiosulfate

Amthio, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, South Central, Southern Plains, Specialty, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

Ammonium thiosulfate pricing remained in a broad range at $330-$375/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low confirmed in Ohio and the high in Indiana.

Western Cornbelt:

The ammonium thiosulfate market remained at $350-$375/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt.

Southern Plains:

The last ammonium thiosulfate offers in the Southern Plains remained at 325/st FOB Houston and $385/st FOB Lubbock, Texas.

South Central:

The ammonium thiosulfate market was reported at $335-$375/st FOB in the South Central region, depending on location.

Calcium Ammonium Nitrate

Benelux, Calcium Ammonium Nitrate, Germany, Market Watch, Specialty

Germany/Benelux:

Yara on Sept. 14 announced its list price for November deliveries of CAN-27 (YaraBelaNitromag) in Germany and Benelux, setting the new level at €330/mt bulk CIF for both destinations, with immediate effect. The November price is a €17/mt hike on Yara’s list price for October deliveries (GM Sept. 3, p. 17). Once again, Yara warned that only a limited volume will be available.

Yara also posted its list prices for November deliveries of its YaraBelaSulfan product, setting the new levels at €340.50/mt bulk CIF for Germany and €342/mt bulk CIF for Benelux. OCI is also reported to have raised its CAN price for deliveries to the two countries, setting the new price at €315/mt bulk CIF last week.