Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. called a urea tender to close June 19. Shipment must be by July 28. Sources said RCF will be looking to buy 1.5 million mt, but rising urea prices may cut that amount.

OCI NV, Amsterdam, said June 11 that CEO Nassef Sawiris will assume the position of Executive Chairman of OCI’s Board of Directors, with continued responsibility for directing OCI’s strategy.

Ahmed El-Hoshy, currently COO, will succeed Sawiris as CEO.

Hassan Badrawi will oversee M&A, in addition to his current role as CFO.

The appointments are effective Aug. 1.

Lordegan Urea Fertilizer Company (LUFC) in southwest Iran started production at its ammonia plant, said Executive Director of the company Mohsen Mahmoudi in a Trend News report, citing Shana news agency. The urea plant commission is expected between June 21- July 21, 2020.

When complete, the complex will produce 680,000 mt of ammonia and 1.07 million mt of urea per year. Construction for the complex began as early as 2014 and recent political sanctions against the nation have contributed to construction delays.

Iran’s urea exports have grown by 60 percent in the past five years to an estimated 2.5 million mt in 2019 on capacity growth, according to Alexis Maxwell, Green Markets Director of Research. Brazil is the largest buyer of Iranian urea in barter trade for food products. Iran is one of the largest buyers of Brazil’s agricultural commodities as food is not covered by U.S. sanctions.

France-based specialty chemical company Arkema announced June 3 the signing with Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, of a long-term supply agreement for anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (AHF) for its Calvert City, Kentucky, site. The material will be used to produce polymers, fluoro-derivatives, and fluorogases.

As part of this agreement, Arkema will invest US$150 million in a 40 kt/year AHF production plant at Nutrien’s site in Aurora, North Carolina, scheduled to start up in the first half of 2022.

PhosAgro’s operations have not been affected by a collapsed railroad bridge on the route between Murmansk and Monchegorsk, a company spokesperson has told Bloomberg. However, PhosAgro uses the Murmansk port to ship apatite concentrate for export clients, and if the bridge isn’t repaired in 10 days the shipments schedule will be adjusted after agreement with customers. Domestic sales are not affected.

The collapsed occurred June 1. EuroChem and Acron also use the bridge. They had not responded to inquiries at the time of this alert.

“We were back up at $290/mt in China over a three-year period, so does it take another three years to get back to $300/mt? Probably,” said Mosaic President and CEO Joc O’Rourke on May 27 at the Bernstein 36th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference, a virtual industry conference, which was covered by Bloomberg. China prices dropped to $220/mt in the recently concluded contract. O’Rourke said large inventories of potash prompted buyers to hold off on purchases this spring, which gave China a strong position in contract negotiations.

 “I was very disappointed” in the China contract price as “I don’t think it’s particularly good for the market.”

The Southwestern Fertilizer Conference Executive Committee made the decision this week to cancel this year’s conference scheduled for July 19-23, in Denver. SWFC said the decision was based on the nationwide uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. Refunds are being processed.

Tampa anhydrous ammonia business was concluded for June at $218/mt CFR, down $17/mt from May’s $235/mt CFR. Most observers had been expecting a drop. May prices were down $15/mt from April’s $250/mt.

Authorities along India’s East Coast and neighboring Bangladesh have evacuated millions and shut factories as the biggest cyclonic storm in two decades is set to make a landfall later today, according to Bloomberg. Amphan is forecast to be the worst storm over the Bay of Bengal since the 1999 super cyclone that hit the eastern Indian state of Odisha. India’s worst-ever cyclone killed about 10,000 people in the state.

Amphan, now equivalent of a category 3 hurricane after weakening overnight, is moving towards West Bengal in India and Khepupara in Bangladesh, according to the India Meteorological Department. Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd. has shut phosphate production and shipments from its Paradip plant.

The cyclone is expected to carry sustained wind speed of 170 to 180 kilometers (106-112 miles) per hour, which could rise as high as 200 kilometers per hour. Bangladesh is evacuating 2.2 million people from coastal districts. In India’s West Bengal, almost 300,000 people have been moved into relief centers.