OCP SA, Casablanca, says it and rivals in North America, China and Russia may cut production in the second half to mitigate the impact of new capacities from Saudi Ma’aden, Tunisia and Egypt on supply, according to a Bloomberg report citing OCP’s annual report. OCP indicated that the market “will however remain relatively fragile” with the risk of “interventionism by China” to boost its exports.

The Andersons Inc., Maumee, Ohio, posted a first-quarter net loss attributable to the company of $37.7 million on revenues of $1.85 billion, versus a year-ago loss of $14 million and revenues of $1.98 billion.  The Plant Nutrient Group improved year-over-year results by $2.7 million, recording a pretax loss of $1.2 million on lower operating and interest expenses.

“Most parts of our business were off to a decent start to the quarter, but the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound negative impact on our operating results,’ said President and CEO Pat Bowe. “Stay-at-home orders reduced vehicle miles traveled, which in turn dramatically reduced demand for gasoline, ethanol and corn, significantly hurting the performance of both the Ethanol Group and Trade Group. The Plant Nutrient Group demonstrated resiliency during the quarter as results improved year-over-year and benefited from a good start to the planting season.”

Compass Minerals, Overland Park, Kan., reported first-quarter net earnings of $27.6 million on revenues of $413.9 million up from the year-ago $7.6 million and $403.7 million, respectively. North American plant nutrient sales volumes were up at 96,000 mt from the year-ago 57,000 mt, while South America’s were up at 68,000 mt from 52,000 mt.

“Despite mild winter weather throughout most of our highway deicing service markets, our strong Salt price performance and a rebound in specialty plant nutrition demand in both North and South America fueled strong earnings results for us in the first quarter,” said Kevin S. Crutchfield, Compass Minerals President and CEO.

Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, announced today that it has made the difficult decision to temporarily shut down one of the four ammonia plants at its Trinidad facility. It said temporary shutdown is in response to the current market price of ammonia. The plant has an annual ammonia capacity of 600,000 mt/y.  The other three ammonia plants and one urea facility at the site will continue to operate at normal rates.     

Nutrien expects the shutdown to last for a minimum of three months. It said it will continue to monitor market conditions going forward as it assesses any further changes in production.

The Mosaic Co., Tampa, reported a first-quarter net loss of $203 million, including $295 million of noncash foreign currency losses, which were primarily offset in other comprehensive income on the balance sheet. Adjusted net loss was $21 million, a decrease of $119 million from the prior year, as lower finished goods prices were partially offset by lower phosphate raw material costs and strong sales volumes. First-quarter net sales were $1.8 billion and finished goods sales volume increased 14 percent.

AdvanSix, Parsippany, N.J., reported a 57 percent drop in first-quarter net income to $8.6 million from the year-ago $20.2 million. Much of the drop was driven by a weak nylon market which has been impacted by fewer sales for carpet and engineered plastics applications. Ammonium sulfate sales contributed a larger share to company-wide sales.

The much anticipated Indian urea tender was called. It will close May 7 with shipping by June 15. The closing date is just after the last of the most recent tender urea must be shipped. Sources have indicated MMTC will take 500-600,000 mt and that prices will be lower than the RCF tender prices of $251-$257/mt CFR.

Helm Ag, Hamburg, reports that it has entered into an agreement to establish a joint venture with ACF Minera for the production and marketing of potassium nitrate and other products. Helm will invest in a production joint venture while obtaining exclusive worldwide rights for the distribution of 120,000 mt. ACF will expand its production capabilities by increasing the volume for potassium nitrate at its mines located in the Atacama Desert in Chile by another 90,000 mt.

Martin Midstream Partners LP, Kilgore, Texas, reported a 10 percent uptick in fertilizer volumes for the first quarter and increased operating profits from year-ago levels though the company said the increase did not meet its own projections. It expects to recoup some of the expected volumes in the second quarter. Company-wide, Martin pulled into the plus column with net income of $8.8 million compared to the year-ago loss of $3.6 million.

Citing the current turmoil in the energy business as well as COVID-19, Martin withdrew 2020 guidance that was issued in January.

NOLA granular barge price ideas were falling this week after corn futures prices hit a 10-year low following a further crash in oil prices. While NOLA barges that were ready to move were reported to have traded in the $245-$250/st FOB range, sources said first-half and full May barges prices had nosedived, off some $20-$25/st FOB, if not more.