Port Ewen, N.Y.-Dyno Nobel has announced intentions to go ahead with a planned layoff of approximately 40 employees because of a continuing decline in business at its Port Ewen initiation systems plant. An announcement from Dyno Nobel’s headquarters in Salt Lake City said the layoffs are the result of a review of manufacturing needs at the plant, and that the layoffs follow a phased manufacturing reduction plan initiated over the past 12 months due to diminishing customer demand for the electric detonator product line manufactured at the site. A small staff will remain to continue the manufacturing operations and existing distribution activities. Any environmental remediation obligations will continue to be addressed by Dyno Nobel. Tim Suydam, Dyno Nobel’s vice president, manufacturing – initiation systems, said customers would continue to be supplied from Dyno Nobel’s other plants, including the plant at Simsbury, Conn. Dyno Nobel acquired the site from Hercules in 1985. Dyno Nobel also said that the Ashland Inc. sale of two of its manufacturing lines in Louisiana, Mo., will not affect the company’s operations, located adjacent to what is being acquired by Perstorp Polyols Inc. of Toledo, Ohio. The statement said there will be no material impact even though Dyno Nobel operates a plant next door with 55 employees.
All posts by traceybg@gmail.com
Passport raises funds, names officers
Vancouver-Passport Potash has announced that it has arranged a fully subscribed non-brokered private placement of $5.5 million, which consists of 22,000,000 units at $0.25 cents, each unit consisting of one common share and one full warrant exercisable at $0.35 cents for a period of two years. The proceeds, which are to be used for general working capital and the current drill program underway, will take Passport through to pre-feasibility. Passport has engaged Boart Longyear M&E Drilling Services to lead a drilling program on Passport’s Holbrook Basin Potash Project in Arizona. Passport says the potash bed was drilled and delineated in the 1960s and 1970s by Duvall Corporation and Arkla Exploration. Due to low potash prices in the 1970s, the Holbrook Basin potash bed was not developed after discovery. In addition, Passport announced new appointments and the expansion of its management team. Joshua Bleak has been appointed as Passport’s President and CEO, and will continue serving on the board of directors. Stephen Butrenchuk remains a member of Passport’s board of directors and will continue serving in that capacity. John Eckersley has been appointed as Passport’s vice president of legal and corporate affairs. Passport says Bleak has extensive experience in mining and mineral exploration, coming from four generations of mining experience. He is president of North American Environmental Corp., a consulting company, specializing in project management, permitting, lobbying, and land tenure. The company said he recently managed a broad range of mining exploration projects throughout North America. Eckersley previously served as corporate counsel, focusing on the preparation of SEC registration statements, limited offering exemption documents, and merger and reverse merger documents.
Migao, SQM open jv
Toronto-Migao Corp., a leading producer of specialty potash fertilizers for the Chinese market, and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM), Santiago, Chile, the world’s largest producer and distributor of potassium nitrate, have announced the start of production at the newly constructed potassium nitrate joint venture in Sichuan, China. Migao and SQM jointly own the jv 50-50. It will distribute any exports of potassium nitrate produced by Migao or the jv, as well as any imports of SQM’s potassium nitrate to China. “This comes at a time when fertilizer demand is outpacing supply in China. This is especially evident in the specialty potash-based markets we supply,” said Mr. Liu Guocai, Migao’s CEO. “This venture with SQM further reinforces our dominant position as China’s largest potassium nitrate producer.” The new 40,000 mt/y potassium nitrate production capacity from the jv is in addition to Migao’s 80,000 mt/y production at its wholly owned Sichuan Migao facility.
BNSF wreck upsets 2 fertilizer tankers
Perry, Okla.-Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) investigators are still looking for the cause of a 15-car derailment here on the evening of Jan. 13 involving two tanker cars carrying liquid fertilizer. According to BNSF spokesman Joe Faust, traffic on the main line was restored by the next evening, but an advisory went out to customers saying that arrival delays of up to 24 hours should be expected. Reports from the scene indicated that both fertilizer cars lost product in the upset, and that no impact had been detected on the waterways in the area. But Faust said only one of the tankers was punctured and emptied an undetermined amount of the fertilizer. He said soil in the area soaked up the liquid and was being checked by an environmental team that was called in to assess any environmental problems at the site. Indications were that a rail broke as the train was passing over it. Two families living near the wreck were evacuated from their homes to a local motel as a precaution.
CHS acquires Eastern European grain company
St. Paul-CHS Inc. has acquired Agri Point Ltd. from East Point Holdings Ltd., Nicosia, Cyprus. The Agri Point acquisition is part of the company’s ongoing global grain origination expansion, adding approximately 1.5-to-2 million mt of corn, wheat, and barley. “Acquiring Agri Point enables CHS to further develop its global competency and presence into the high growth areas of Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia,” says Claudio Scarrozza, general manager, CHS Europe, Geneva, Switzerland. “In addition, we’re adding important infrastructure to our global supply chain capabilities with a deep-water port in Constanta, Romania, a barge loading facility on the Danube River at Giurgiu, Romania, and an inland grain terminal at Oroshaza, Hungary.” Scarrozza says CHS is executing targeted growth and expansion to fulfill its mission and vision to shareholders of creating value by sourcing agricultural commodities and securing access to consumptive demand worldwide.
Uralkali, Silvinit report production totals
Russia-Uralkali, Berezniki, and Silvinit, Solikamsk, have announced their production results for 2010. In 2010, Uralkali produced approximately 5.1 million mt of potassium chloride (KCl), which is 1.9 times higher than in 2009. Silvinit produced 5.2 million mt of KCl in 2010, a 1.5-fold increase over 2009. “The aggregate production of Uralkali and Silvinit in 2010 exceeded 10 million mt and thus matched the world’s leading potash producers’ production levels,” said Pavel Grachev, Uralkali president and CEO. “In 2010, we took the first step towards the combination of the two potash producers and creation of a leader in the global potash sector. Down the line, the combined company plans to increase production levels in order to meet the growing potash demand by implementing brownfield development projects at BKPRU-4 and SKRU-3, and greenfield development projects at Verkhnekamskoe field.” Vladislav Baumgertner, Silvinit CEO, said it would be fair to call last year the rebound time for the potash industry. “The demand for potash has increased significantly, and we have a strong belief this growth will continue. We estimate that the global potash market will grow up to 55-60 million mt in 2011. Potash consumption will remain mostly concentrated in China, India, Brazil, and Southeast Asia.”
Focus stakes phosphate claims in central Peru
Vancouver-Focus Ventures Ltd. has announced that it has staked a large property package prospective for phosphates near the towns of Tarma and La Oroya in central Peru, roughly 200 km east of Lima. During the course of ongoing property evaluations for precious and base metals, the company identified an opportunity to acquire a land position in central Peru covering the trend of the phosphate-bearing Aramachay Formation, a Jurassic-aged sedimentary unit. Focus says a number of old geological reports written in the early 1960s for the Cerro de Pasco Corp. highlighted numerous phosphate occurrences in the Tarma-La Oroya region hosted within the Aramachay Formation. Stonegate Agricom’s Mantoro phosphate deposit near Sincos is hosted by the same unit, approximately 30 km to the southeast. To date, Stonegate has outlined measured and indicated resources of 39.5 million mt at 10 percent P2O5 and inferred resources of 376.3 million mt at 9 percent P2O5. Given this increase in demand, and Focus’s presence on the ground in Peru, the company made applications for 26 concessions covering roughly 16,600 hectares, now known as the Machay Property. Sixteen of the concessions have been granted, and the other 10 are pending registration. The claims are strategically located near the La Oroya metallurgical complex, a potential source of sulfuric acid for fertilizer production.
Management Briefs
Surinder Jakhar, chairman of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd. (IFFCO), was found dead as a result of gunshot injuries at his farm on Jan. 18. Local media report that Jakhar was cleaning his revolver when it fired accidentally. Police, however, were not ready to call the death an accident, telling the media that they have to consider the possibility of suicide. According to reports, no one else was at the farm at the time of Jakhar’s death.
IFFCO spokesperson Harshendra Singh Verdhan told Green Markets that the company issued a note of condolence to the family, but has not issued a statement about Jakhar’s death. Jakhar was with IFFCO for approximately 30 years and held leadership positions in many of the individual member organizations of the cooperative.
Shareholders of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. on Jan. 20 elected four members of the company’s board of directors, effective immediately, for three-year terms that expire in 2014. They include Jim Hagedorn, Scotts chairman and CEO; William “Jerry” Jurgensen, former CEO of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.; Nancy Mistretta, former partner at Russell Reynolds Associates; and Stephanie Shern, founder, Shern Associates LLC.
Hagedorn also announced that CFO Dave Evans would expand his responsibilities. As executive vice president, strategy and business development, in addition to his CFO position, Evans will lead the development of a long-term strategic roadmap for the company that will provide a foundation from which to filter growth opportunities and define the capabilities critical to the company’s success.
Market Watch
AMMONIA
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Nothing new was reported in the market last week. However, Tampa sellers, citing higher Black Sea prices, are expecting an uptick as well.
Eastern Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $670-$680/st FOB regional terminals last week, depending on location and time of delivery.
Western Cornbelt: Most quotes for anhydrous ammonia fell in the $640-$670/st FOB range out of regional terminals, with the upper end confirmed for prepay sales in the Iowa market. Delivered ammonia continued to be reported in the $660-$680/st range in Missouri from southern production points, with the low for prompt tons and the high for prepay.
California: Anhydrous ammonia pricing remained at $610/st truck-DEL in California from Calamco. Aqua ammonia was steady at $165/st FOB in the state.
Pacific Northwest: Anhydrous ammonia remained in a broad range at $640-$715/st DEL in the Pacific Northwest, with the low for railed tons on a spot basis and the upper end for truck-DEL material.
Western Canada: Anhydrous ammonia pricing was unchanged at $817-$825/mt DEL in Manitoba, $825-$834/mt DEL in Saskatchewan, and $834-$861/mt DEL in Alberta. Dealer postings were steady at $827-$871/mt DEL in the region, depending on location.
Black Sea: Sources in Asia report supplies are tight in Yuzhnyy not because of strong demand, but because of limited production. Natural gas that would ordinarily be used for ammonia and urea production is currently being diverted to consumer use. The diversion means reduced production in the ammonia plants.
Sources report the ammonia price has moved up $10-$15/mt. As expected, buyers argue the increase is less than the producers say.
Observers point to a current market level of $450-$460/mt FOB, with growth expected to continue.
Middle East: The price in the Arab Gulf keeps climbing ?Çô and doing so faster than many had expected when the year started.
Sabic reportedly closed a spot deal with a Japanese trader late last week at $420/mt FOB. The tons are expected to be sent to India. This latest deal moves the regional price up faster and higher than sources had expected the previous week.
It seems Sabic had a cargo available at the right time, said one producer, because a vessel was not ready at the right time. Sources say Sabic preferred to make the deal as a straight-out sale rather than engage in a swap. By making the deal a sale, Sabic finally had a spot sale in the region to show a strengthening market. Until this deal, most of the spot business was done by Iran. The discounts Iran offered to buyers depressed the regional market price, to the chagrin of the Arab producers. Eventually, Iran was able to get its price within a few dollars of the consensus Arab price.
Now that the goal post has moved again, industry sources will be watching closely to see if the Iranian producers are able to move up their prices once more.
Reports that Indian buyers are playing hardball with Arab producers over pricing are being dismissed by sources close to the producers.
Reportedly, the Indians were asking the Arab producers to match the price of the Iranian tons. Arab producers rejected the bids.
One of the factors affecting the talks appears to be reports that Indian demand is slowing down following the successful conclusion of phos acid contracts.
Iranian producers reportedly have failed to secure a deal with Morocco.
One source noted that the talks were doomed to fail from the beginning for a number of reasons. Besides the issue of nailing down an agreed-to currency for the deal, sources say the political/religious issues were enough to scuttle the deal.
Based on the Sabic business, sources now peg the market at $415-$420/mt FOB.
UREA
U.S. Gulf: Slight erosion was reported in the granular urea market last week. While there were reports that product traded as high as $383/st FOB, most sources said product had dropped into the high $370s. Most players were reporting trades in the $378-$380/st FOB range by the end of the week. Another player suggested that you could probably get a lower price than this, but there was simply not enough interest right now.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea was quoted at $420-$440/st FOB regional terminals, with the upper end out of spot Ohio shipping points and the low end on the river system.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing remained in a broad range at $410-$440/st FOB in the region, with the low in southern Missouri and the upper end in the Iowa market.
California: The granular urea market in California was pegged at $435-$445/st FOB, with delivered postings in the $490-$495/st range before discounts.
Pacific Northwest: Granular urea was tagged at $455-$465/st FOB and $460-$490/st DEL in the Pacific Northwest region.
Western Canada: Urea pricing in Western Canada remained at $551-$576/mt DEL, with the low in Manitoba and the upper end in Alberta. Dealer reference levels were quoted in the $560-$585/mt DEL range in the region, depending on location.
Black Sea: After a steady strengthening, prices out of Yuzhnyy have slipped. Reportedly, Fedcominvest returned 75,000-100,000 mt to producers after failing to agree on prices with buyers. Another trader then swooped in to snap up at least 80,000 mt at a discount.
Asian sources say the deals moved the market sub-$370/mt FOB. One trader pegged the market at $365-$375/mt FOB, and few disagreed with this spread.
The decline may be just a blip, said one trader. Demand and prices in Europe remain strong. At the same time, demand from Latin America is also strong enough to hold the price steady. The price slippage that occurred is expected to recover by the end of February, when talk of Indian sales picks up.
Middle East: Talk of a deal to Thailand from the UAE through a major trading house led sources to quibble about how much lower the Arab Gulf price has dropped.
Earlier this month, producers were pushing prices above $400/mt FOB. Last week, producers were admitting to prices at $385-$390/mt FOB.
The problem, said one trader, is that producers were looking at a best-case scenario.
Backing up the conviction that the market has slipped are reports that Sabic closed a sale to an East African buyer at $400/mt CFR.
Traders say the more likely price range is $380-$385/mt FOB.
No matter how one looks at the deal, it is not good for arguments that the price should be moving up.
Adding to the downward pressure on the price is the situation in Australia. With most of eastern Australia underwater and a drought hitting the western portion, sources say there is little demand from Down Under.
The bad news from Australia is 180 degrees from the way things looked as 2010 started winding down, when producers and traders were looking at a bumper application season.
Sources say the weak Australian market and strong push back from Asian buyers could add more downward pressure on the price.
Sources say the harsh winter in the United States is adding to pessimism in the region for stronger sales to NOLA.
The regional market has softened, more out of strong efforts by buyers to take advantage of occasional surpluses in supplies from different sources.
The best guess now for the price in the region is $380-$390/mt FOB, with producers arguing for the higher end and hoping to get back above the $400/mt FOB level soon.
More production is expected in the area.
Sabic announced last week it would begin a feasibility study to build a fifth plant at the Safco Jubail Industrial complex. The announcement came on the heels of a report that showed plans to build a steel plant would not be as cost effective as another urea facility. Industry sources say building a fifth plant in Jubail was always on the books – the company is just moving up the schedule. If the new study is favorable, the new plant should start production in the second half of 2013 and have an annual output of 1 million mt.
Sources say the market for urea continues to show enough strength that the material coming out of Safco V would act more as a stabilizing factor rather than produce an oversupply.
Pakistan: Sources report arrangements are not yet completed to purchase the 250,000 mt of urea the government says it needs by the end of next month. The deal will reportedly be handled by TCP using funds from a plan worked out between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Industry watchers say the final agreement on the funds has not yet been approved by the governments. Without those funds, TCP will not be able to afford to buy the urea farmers need.
A spokesman for the Farmers Association Pakistan told local media the failure of the government to obtain the needed tons has led to a price increase that is difficult for the farmers to absorb. He added that Sabic reportedly has refused to ship such a large quantity at once, and the government of Pakistan has not yet reached out to other suppliers.
Arab Gulf sources agree it would be difficult to ship 250,000 mt in just a few weeks, but that the main stumbling block remains ensuring payment of the tons.
The shortage of urea came about because natural gas had to be diverted from urea production to consumer use.
A senior official of the National Fertilizer Corp. told local media that the situation does not look like it will improve any time soon. The latest plan for natural gas distribution, he said, will continue to leave domestic urea producers short and force the country to import more urea.
Correction: The production of urea plants in Pakistan has been affected on Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) & Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd. (SNGPL) gas supply networks only. Not all plants have been affected, as was reported last week. Three other plants (Fauji Fertilizer Ltd. in Punjab, an older plant of Engro Fertilizer Ltd., Sindh, and Fatima Fertilizer in Punjab) on the gas pipelines network of Mari Gas Ltd. are producing urea.
Arif Hamid Dar, Pak Arab Fertilizer Ltd. CFO, told Green Markets that his company again approached the government to reduce gas load shedding from 45 to 30 days in order to meet any shortfall of urea in Rabi season. He said production from the Pak Arab Fertilizer plant has been affected due to gas load shedding, while the Fatima Group’s other plant – Fatima Fertilizer – is online but getting short supply from Mari Gas Ltd. under the government’s gas curtailment policy.
One agricultural expert was of the view that the application of urea in Rabi season will suffer, and crops of wheat and other crops would likely see a negative impact.
Indonesia: Sources report Pusri is engaging in some “closed door talks” with potential buyers for 20,000-30,000 mt of excess urea. The talks are in lieu of calling a tender.
And while the talks are taking place, the government is mulling over when to roll out a new plan for the sale of excess urea.
Exports will still need permission from the government, say sources, but in the future the sales may be handled through one new entity.
The plan, said one trader, is to keep Pusri, PIM, and Kaltim from competing with each other, and thereby driving the offshore price down. The Indonesian government tried a similar plan several years back. At that time it wanted to run all exports through one of the existing companies. Problems erupted immediately, as the supplying companies complained their tons were not being given a fair shot at the export dollars.
The new plan will reportedly get rid of any favoritism in the offering and shipping of urea.
Traders in Asia noted that the already sporadic exports of Indonesian urea could get even dicier with the creation of another government layer to the process.
Thailand: Reports that a major trading house sold 20,000 mt to a Thai buyer at $420/mt CFR from the UAE appeared to raise more questions than were answered. Many in the industry were looking for a clear sign of where the market was heading. The Thai deal was supposed to provide at least a partial answer for the Asia and Middle East markets. It didn’t.
Sources say the top amount paid recently for imported material is about $359/mt CFR. If the $420/mt CFR price is accurate, sources are unclear what the price referred to.
The amount was too high to pay at the port, said one trader. He speculated that the price was for a location inland. But then, the question is where inland.
Reportedly, inspectors have been dispatched to importers’ warehouses to verify how much material is on hand and when it arrived. Local distributors and farmers have raised concerns that the importers have been holding onto tons purchased before the international market started to move up, creating a false scarcity of material.
Vietnam: Sources report Vietnamese traders are re-exporting Chinese material at $385/mt FOB bagged. These deals are not making the Chinese happy – or the foreign holders of tons in Chinese bonded warehouses. Overall, the Vietnamese urea market is soft.
China: Sources say some urea from bonded warehouses is still finding its way to the international market. Recent reports claim South Korea bought tons at $400-$408/mt FOB.
The Korean purchases were necessary, said one trader, because higher input costs for the Korean producers forced shutdowns.
Small quantities of Chinese tons continue to trickle into Vietnam “without the proper paperwork,” say sources. The amount, however, is down to 1,000-2,000 mt instead of the 5,000-10,000 mt previously seen.
Sri Lanka: The Ministry of Agriculture issued awards in its urea tender. All awards include 270 days credit.
| Company | Quantity (mt) | |
| Valency | 12,000 | 454.68 |
| 24,000 | 466.88 | |
| ETA | 24,000 | 479.97 |
Delivery is expected sometime in May. Sources speculate that the full 60,000 mt will come from China.
NITROGEN SOLUTIONS
U.S. Gulf: The market remained quiet, but most said price ideas are firm at $285-$290/st FOB ($8.91-$9.06/unit FOB).
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-32 was quoted in the $335-$350/st ($10.47-$10.94/unit) FOB range out of regional terminals last week.
Western Cornbelt: UAN-32 continued to be quoted in the $325-$340/st ($10.16-$10.63/unit) range FOB regional terminals, with the low in southern Missouri and the high in Iowa. Some Iowa contacts also talked last week of UAN prepay being offered at the $350/st ($10.94/unit) FOB level on the upper end.
One regional supplier said his location was out of UAN, and they were waiting to see how much corn gets planted before they refill. “We’ll have 4-6 weeks to secure tons for sidedress if growers need it,” he noted.
California: UAN-32 was steady at $345-$360/st ($10.78-$11.25/unit) FOB in California, with delivered tons quoted in the $365-$390/st ($11.41-$12.19/unit) range, depending on time of delivery.
Pacific Northwest: UAN-32 pricing was steady in the region at $360-$370/st ($11.25-$11.56/unit) DEL.
Western Canada: UAN-28 was tagged at $337-$352/mt ($12.04-$12.57/unit) DEL in Western Canada, with the low reported in Manitoba and the upper end of the range in Alberta. Dealer reference levels for UAN-28 were in the $347-$362/mt ($12.39-$12.93/unit) DEL range in the region.
AMMONIUM NITRATE
U.S. Gulf: Most were calling the most recent business at the $330/st FOB mark, with quotes about five dollars higher. Forward business was reported to be garnering a premium.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate was steady at $365-$385/st FOB in the region, with the low in Missouri and the high in Iowa to the dealer.
California: No agricultural market was reported for ammonium nitrate in California. CAN-17 pricing was steady at $262-$272/st FOB in the state.
Pacific Northwest: Ammonium nitrate was unchanged at $398-$423/st DEL, with the low in western Montana and the upper end in Washington. No current pricing was reported for CAN-17.
AMMONIUM SULFATE
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was in tight supply in the Eastern Cornbelt region, with the dealer market firmly in the $310-$320/st FOB range for any available tons.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate remained in tight supply, with pricing quoted in the $310-$320/st FOB range in the region.
California: The ammonium sulfate market was quoted at $250-$280/st FOB in California, with the low reflecting standard and fluid grade postings, depending on supplier.
Simplot’s ammonium sulfate postings firmed $25/st on Jan. 20, moving to $265-$280/st FOB in California, depending on location. IRM’s fluid grade ammonium sulfate postings firmed as well on Jan. 20, moving to $250/st FOB Sacramento and $255/st FOB Chico. IRM’s regular grade ammonium sulfate posting moved on that date to $275/st FOB Chico.
Pacific Northwest: Ammonium sulfate prices were up from last report. Sources quoted granular ammonium sulfate at $325-$330/st DEL in the Pacific Northwest, and in tight supply. IRM’s granular and regular grade ammonium sulfate postings firmed on Jan. 20 to $325/st FOB and $330/st DEL in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The company’s fluid grade postings firmed on that date to $305/st FOB and $310/st DEL in those same four states.
Western Canada: Granular ammonium sulfate pricing in Western Canada was up another $25/mt from last report, with sources quoting the dealer market in the $395-$400/mt DEL range in the region. Dealer reference prices in the region were quoted at $405-$410/mt DEL last week.
PHOSPHATES
Central Florida: The extreme cold that hit Florida more two weeks ago retreated and relented to warmer temperatures, but damage to citrus and produce crops was extensive. About one-third of the orange crop was lost. Grapefruit, which has a thicker skin, fared better than oranges.
Producer inventories of DAP and MAP increased in December from November, up 37,000 st to 757,000 st. Phosphate producers were in the process of negotiating the price of sulfur for the first quarter last week. If the cost does go up, it will probably be minimal, said some sources, despite an outlook for less sulfur availability during the next couple of months.
Some believe the outlook for the spring season’s start was overblown, because many in the eastern part of the country already have full bins. Inventories were generally lower than hoped, so the result should hold down price-cutting once the season gets underway.
A few prompt railcar sales were made out of Central Florida last week, but the prices were within the previous week’s range. Based on prompt sales last week, the Central Florida DAP price range was steady at $540-$550/st FOB. Smaller lots from traders could cost $5-$10/st FOB more. CF’s price was $540/st FOB, and Mosaic’s price was $550/st FOB. MAP was listed at a premium of $10/st FOB in comparison to DAP. PCS Sales was making sales at comparable prices to the market. Availability of all phosphate products was limited. Agrifos’ price for truck sales was $585/st FOB for DAP and $595/st FOB for MAP, but was $5/st FOB less for rail.
U.S. Gulf: The phosphate business “is supposed to be dead at this time of year,” according to one source, and it lived up to expectations. A few deals were done, but no one absolutely had to have anything last week – and won’t for about a month.
Interest in what will be available during the next few weeks was strong, however, and some were reporting more interest in prepay deals. More phosphate will be arriving in the U.S. in the near future, but the market should have no problem consuming that supply, as well as the domestic variety.
Warehouse prices were essentially unchanged last week in the $585-$600/st FOB range, depending on location. Those prices, along with NOLA phosphate barges, were expected to rise once the season gets underway. Most believe that will begin at TFI’s meeting in Arizona early next month.
Crop prices continued to be strong, which was a good harbinger of future phosphate prices. Corn for December 2011 was $5.705/bushel, with December 2012 at $5.25/bushel. Soybeans for November 2011 were strong at $13.345/bushel, with $11.9575/bushel for November 2012. Wheat for July 2010 was pegged at $8.47/bushel and $8.5675/bushel for July 2012.
As for NOLA DAP barges sales, sources said there was “not much going on.” Based on actual sales, the NOLA DAP barge price range was $546-$550/st FOB, compared to a similar $545-$550/st FOB the previous week. MAP barges were bringing a premium of $20-$25/st FOB to DAP. Prices should remain firm as the spring season approaches.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP was quoted at $595-$615/st FOB in the region in late January, with the low out of river locations in Illinois on a spot basis, and the upper end in the Ohio market. MAP was $10-$20/st higher than DAP, depending on location and supplier.
10-34-0 remained in extremely tight supply. Sources quoted the dealer market at a firm $625/st FOB in the region for any available tons.
Western Cornbelt: The wintry mix of snow and cold slowed spreading activity in the region. A Missouri source said growers in his area had been applying dry tons on wheat ground before the moisture, and other locations were “close to doing something.” Even if fertilizer tons were not making their way to fields, several sources said lots of inquiries were coming in for spring – and even next fall. “We’re still busy on all fronts,” said one regional supplier at midweek.
DAP was pegged in a broad range at $585-$600/st FOB regional warehouses, with the low out of river locations in southern Missouri and the high commonly quoted in the Iowa market. MAP was pegged at $620-$630/st FOB in Iowa to the dealer, with the upper number also quoted for delivered MAP tons. The low end of the MAP market was pegged at the $610/st FOB level on a spot basis.
10-34-0 remained in very tight supply. Iowa sources quoted the market firmly at $625/st FOB and $630/st DEL, reflecting another increase from last report for any available tons.
California: Sources reported higher prices for dry phosphates last week. Effective Jan. 14, Agrium’s MAP postings in California and Arizona firmed to $670/st FOB warehouse or rail-DEL. Simplot moved its DAP and MAP postings up on Jan. 18 to $665-$670/st FOB or DEL in California.
16-20-0 pricing was up another $15/st from last report, to $446-$451/st FOB Lathrop and $453-$458/st FOB warehouses in Northern California. Simplot’s 0-45-0 postings in California were up $20/st as well.
Phosphoric acid remained at $11.40/unit DEL from Simplot for both SPA and MGA in California, with MGA postings out of regional warehouses moving to $11.60/unit FOB. Agrium was listed at $1,250/st DEL for SPA and MGA in California and Arizona.
10-34-0 pricing from Simplot was steady at $482-$492/st FOB Helm. 11-37-0 was quoted at $535-$545/st FOB El Centro.
Pacific Northwest: DAP and MAP prices were up from last report in the Pacific Northwest. Sources quoted the market at $650-$655/st FOB or DEL in Montana, $655-$660/st FOB or DEL in Idaho and Utah, and $660-$665/st FOB or DEL in the rest of the region.
The 16-20-0 market had reportedly firmed some $15/st from last report, to $433-$438/st DEL in Montana, Idaho, and Utah, and $438-$443/st DEL in the rest of the Pacific Northwest. The 10-34-0 market was up as well, to a solid $510/st FOB and in tight supply in the region.
The 11-37-0 price remained at $545-$555/st FOB in the region.
SPA and MGA remained at $11.40/unit DEL in the Pacific Northwest, with Simplot also referenced at $10.90/unit FOB Pocatello. Agrium’s phos acid postings for January included $1,250/st rail-DEL for both SPA and MGA in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
Western Canada: MAP had reportedly firmed some $15/mt from last report, with the dealer market pegged at $752-$757/mt DEL in Manitoba, $757-$767/mt DEL in Saskatchewan, and $762-$787/mt DEL in Alberta. Dealer reference levels for MAP ranged from $760-$795/mt DEL in the region.
No current prices were reported for 10-34-0 due to extremely tight supplies in the region.
U.S. Export: PhosChem continued to make sales at the $600/mt FOB level last week, with one of 6,000 mt into Central America. In addition, it added 40,000 mt that will go into South America at indexed prices in February.
KeyTrade made a sale into Latin America, but the price and the volume were not available. Sources say Latin America will be one of the few decent markets during the next month or so, but prices will likely be subdued, at least until the effect of China’s essential ban on DAP shipments is felt – and perhaps, a little longer.
The export DAP price range continued unchanged at a flat $600/mt FOB, as it has for the past month.
POTASH
U.S. Gulf: Barges continued to be called $480-$485/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: Potash was steady at $505-$515/st FOB regional warehouses at mid-month.
Western Cornbelt: Potash remained at $495-$515/st FOB regional warehouses, with the low in southern Missouri and the upper end quoted in the Iowa market as the common dealer price for red granular tons. Although sources continued to talk of a possible increase from producers at some point before the spring season, others discounted those rumors and said pricing is likely to remain at current levels for spring.
California: Potash remained at $545-$558/st DEL in California, depending on grade and supplier. Potassium nitrate was steady at $929-$996/st FOB, with the low for bulk tons and the upper end for bagged product. Sulfate of potash (SOP) was quoted at $695-$715/st FOB for bulk tons in the state, depending on supplier.
Pacific Northwest: Potash was tagged at $540-$560/st DEL in the Pacific Northwest region.
Western Canada: Potash pricing was steady at $542-$551/mt FOB Saskatchewan mines to Canadian customers, with the low for 60 percent and the upper end for 62 percent. Out of regional warehouses, the potash market remained at $557-$582/mt FOB, depending on grade and location.
China: Canpotex Ltd. on Jan. 21 signed a contract with Sinofert Holdings Ltd. to supply 600,000 mt of potash during the first six months of calendar year 2011 at price levels similar to those recently established for new seaborne imports of potash to China. The price reflects an approximate $50 per mt increase over the 2010 China price level.
The contract is the first concluded under the new three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with Sinofert in October 2010. The contract volumes are at the low end of the MOU range, reflecting Canpotex’s tight potash supply position. Canpotex says it is now fully committed for sales in the first calendar quarter of 2011, and has significant volumes confirmed for the second calendar quarter.
“China has been a key market for Canpotex for almost 40 years, and this contract is indicative of our ongoing commitment to this important and growing market,” said Steve Dechka, Canpotex president and CEO.
Sinofert is China’s largest integrated agricultural company. PotashCorp, a Canpotex member, is a minority shareholder in Sinofert.
SULFUR
Tampa: Negotiations for first quarter molten sulfur contract prices got underway last week, and a source said both parties were acting in a “rational” manner, which could lead to an early settlement – possibly this week sometime. Others were more skeptical, and thought a deal may not be reached until the TFI meeting in Arizona in early February.
Speculation on the outcome was that it would be something between a rollover from the fourth quarter or up as much as $30/lt. Sources cited world prices that are somewhat more stable than a few months ago – in the $160-$170/mt FOB range for the Middle East, and estimates as high as $180/mt FOB for Vancouver.
On the Gulf Coast, however, supply continues to trail demand, and that situation will probably worsen during the first quarter due to a combination of refinery turnarounds and weather-related problems.
With Shell’s gas plant problems in Canada, supplies from there will be limited until the facility returns to normal or near-normal status in a couple of months.
Vancouver: China was quietly making moves to get back into the market as of last week, but delivered prices were said to range between $180-$200/mt. Contracts for the first quarter were in the settlement process, and the price was thought to be close to $180/mt.
Supplies were getting tighter in western Canada due to problems at Suncor’s Edmonton Refinery, Syncrude and Shantz.
The Vancouver market was said to be looking elsewhere to sell its sulfur because China has backed away from the market. South Africa and Brazil were said to be the primary targets, with Brazil the most needy.
In addition, contracts for the first quarter were in the process of being settled up $20-$40/mt FOB higher than the previous agreements.
MARKET NOTES
Florida: Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP says it can now unload 50 percent more fertilizer at its Port Sutton terminal in Florida by using a new E-Crane loader/unloader and new conveyors, which were added through a $7.5 million expansion at the facility.
Bangladesh: The Bangladesh urea industry has welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the State of Qatar to import 4 million mt of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet the growing demand of gas in Bangladesh. Secretary of Bangladesh Energy and Mineral Resources Division Mohammad Mejbahuddin and Minister of State for Energy and Industrial Affairs of Qatar Dr. Mohammed Saleh Al-Sada signed the MOU on behalf of their respective governments earlier this week.
LNG Petrobangla of Bangladesh will import LNG from Qatar Petroleum. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government has already floated a tender to build the LNG terminal, with Jan 20 the final date for submission. The terminal will be built in the private sector under a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis at Moheshkhali in Cox’s Bazaar in Southern Bangladesh.
The Week in Fertilizer Stocks
| Producer | Symbol | Price | Week Ago | Year Ago |
| Agrium | AGU | 87.62 | 92.79 | 61.88 |
| CF Industries | CF | 135.83 | 142.47 | 98.99 |
| Intrepid Potash | IPI | 34.59 | 37.77 | 30.12 |
| Mosaic | MOS | 72.67 | 80.69 | 62.03 |
| PotashCorp | POT | 161.84 | 170.13 | 113.34 |
| Terra Nitrogen | TNH | 107.31 | 110.00 | 101.69 |
| Distribution/Retail | ||||
| Andersons Inc. | ANDE | 38.90 | 40.34 | 26.44 |
| Deere & Co. | DE | 89.26 | 89.47 | 56.11 |
| Scotts | SMG | 51.00 | 51.60 | 41.62 |