A total of 3.6 million mt of urea was offered in the IPL tender that closed July 14. The average price of the offers was $423.76/mt CFR, more than $100 off the price paid by STC in May.

Industry watchers expected to see a lot of large offers from a wide variety of traders and producers. The only other large buyer in the market was TCP from Pakistan and it is down to just asking for 50,000 mt in a new tender.

Indian buying has been behind schedule largely because the rains from the seasonal monsoon are late. The Indian government estimates that the main growing areas of the country have received only 65-70 percent of the rain needed instead of the usual 95 percent at this time. Delays in the rain mean delays in planting and fertilizer applications.

Traders have noted that Indian reserves of urea are very low. Local distributers have been filling farmers’ orders with stock on hand. Sources say few tons are in the pipeline to replenish the sales.

The last import deal was in May when STC paid $535-$540/mt CFR for about 500,000 mt. Prior to that deal, IPL awarded Emmsons a contract for 500,000 mt at $385.83/mt CFR for Iranian tons. Unfortunately for the Indian farmers and Emmsons, the trading house could not secure the material at a price that would work. It declared force majeure on the deal.

Sources report that Emmsons recently chartered two vessels to take material from Iran to India. Industry watchers speculate that Emmsons was successful in its efforts to revitalize its award from March at current rates.

The next step in the procedure is for IPL to counter bid with prices based on ports of discharge.

Glencore International PLC announced that Canada’s Minister of Industry on July 15 approved the company’s acquisition of Viterra Inc. under the Investment Canada Act. Glencore and Viterra signed a definitive agreement in March whereby Glencore will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Viterra for C$16.25 per share. The transaction values Viterra’s equity at approximately C$6.1 billion on a fully diluted basis.

In granting his approval, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said in a statement that Glencore’s acquisition of Viterra is “likely to be of net benefit to Canada.”

“We are very pleased to receive Investment Canada approval, which recognizes the long term benefits for farmers and Canada from our acquisition of Viterra,” said Chris Mahoney, Glencore’s director of agricultural products. “Glencore is committed to investing in Viterra’s operations, its philanthropic initiatives, and in playing a key part in ensuring the continued growth of western Canada’s agricultural industry.”

Glencore reported that it has made a series of commitments to Canada for a five-year period, including increasing Viterra’s projected capital expenditures in Canada by more than C$100 million; investing C$8 million above Viterra’s projected expenditures in R&D; contributing toward grain industry initiatives in the province of Manitoba; working with the Government of Saskatchewan toward establishing a Global Institute for Food Security in the province, and contributing to this initiative should the government initiate the project; increasing contributions toward programs supporting the Western Canadian farm community by 25 percent; and making charitable contributions in support of youth and educational scholarships for First Nations and Metis.

Glencore has also committed to maintaining the Regina, Sask., head office and making it the head office for its North American agricultural operations.

Viterra also issued a statement confirming the Minister of Industry’s approval, noting that this is the latest in a series of approvals and clearances necessary for the transaction to close. Viterra shareholders passed a resolution to approve the transaction at a special meeting on May 29, and Glencore reported in June that it had received unconditional approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice on May 31 also issued a final order approving the transaction under the Canadian Business Corporations Act, and the Canadian Competition Bureau earlier in May said it will not challenge the transaction. In addition, the U.S. statutory waiting period for antitrust review expired on May 3, and the European Commission issued a notice saying that it will not oppose the acquisition.

Viterra noted in its July 15 statement that the closing of the deal is still subject to approvals or clearances under the Australian Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act of 1975, and the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law.

Glencore reported on July 16 that it has received notification from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) that it has moved to the next phase of its review of the transaction. Glencore said it continues to engage with MOFCOM to ensure approval as soon as possible, but the company does not expect MOFCOM approval before the end of July.

Glencore said it will update the market “in due course when it expects closing of the Viterra transaction to occur.”

Sulfur price ideas for Tampa are down some $10-$30/lt, according to most sources, and this has been the case for the last few weeks. They say supply is up, demand is down. Unfortunately, the Green Markets dated July 16; incorrectly said expectations were up by that amount. The industry should know for sure one way or other soon as major buyers will make a decision soon for the third quarter.

LSB Industries Inc. on July 11 gave an update on its El Dorado, Ark., and Pryor, Okla., nitrogen plants that have been undergoing repairs.

A May 15 explosion at the El Dorado facility caused major damage at the DSN 98 percent concentrated nitric acid (DSN) plant and peripheral damage to other plants at that location. On June 5, LSB gave an assessment of damages and its plans to resume production. LSB said it restarted regular nitric acid and ammonium nitrate production as planned, on a partial basis in June, and is on track to increase that production during July and August, as various plants are brought back online, as per the originally announced timetable.

LSB has determined that the repairing the DSN plant is not feasible. It intends to replace the nitric acid production capacity lost by this event with a new nitric acid plant. Engineering is underway to determine the specification for the new acid plant. Before the May 15 event, the DSN plant produced approximately 20 percent of the nitric acid manufactured at the El Dorado facility.

The three other nitric acid plants, which produce approximately 80 percent of the nitric acid at El Dorado in concentrations from 56-63 percent, sustained less damage and are being brought back online. The first of these three has returned to full production, and the other two should restart later this month and August.

Both the high density and low density ammonium nitrate prill plants are ready for full production as acid production continues to be restored. These prill plants are currently operating at less than full capacity due to limited availability of feedstock.

Production at the sulfuric acid plant should resume before year end. Before the May 15, sulfuric acid was approximately 8 percent of the El Dorado facility’s sales.

LSB said all loading and unloading facilities are fully operational.

The temporary nitric acid control room is operational and plans are being prepared for a new permanent control facility.

Repairs to the permanent electrical service and various support facilities are nearing completion.

LSB said it is continuing to work with its insurance carriers and is making good progress.

As for Pryor, LSB said that plant is once again producing UAN. Back in March, the urea plant was taken out of operation to repair a break in the reactor’s stainless steel liner. On April 25, LSB determined that the break could not be repaired, so it decided to replace the liner and announced that the urea plant would be down through the second quarter. The liner replacement is completed and as a result UAN production has resumed. During the time that the urea plant was down, Pryor continued to produce and sell ammonia and downstream products.

The main ammonia plant at the Pryor has been recently producing at approximately 75 percent of 2012 previous operating rates because of problems with the ammonia converter. “Despite the fact that our Pryor facility has been extremely profitable, it has not yet achieved its full potential,” said Jack Golsen, LSB board chairman and CEO. “We have continually had problems sustaining our targeted ammonia production rate from the main ammonia plant at Pryor. We believe this is primarily due to the design of its ammonia converter, which was part of the plant at the time we acquired it. We have decided to replace that converter and expect that to occur during the first quarter of 2013. We will continue to operate the plant during the replacement process. That replacement should allow us to de-bottleneck the production process and finally achieve our targeted production capacity from this ammonia plant.”

“On May 5th we received permits to operate the two smaller ammonia plants at Pryor,” added Golsen. “We are in the process of commissioning those plants. We expect thos

USDA lowered the projected U.S. corn yield to 146 bushels/acres in its July 11 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, down 20 bushels from last month, reflecting the rapid decline in crop conditions since early June and the latest weather data. The season average 2012/13 farm price for corn is projected at $5.40-$6.40 per bushel, up sharply from $4.20-$5.00 per bushel in June.

“Persistent and extreme June dryness across the central and eastern Corn Belt and extreme late June and early July heat from the central Plains to the Ohio River Valley have substantially lowered yield prospects across most of the major growing region,” the report said. Harvested area was also reduced slightly based on USDA’s June 29 Acreage report.

The U.S. soybean crop was also feeling the pinch from drought, USDA said. Soybean production is projected at 3.050 billion bushels, down 155 million as increased harvested area is more than offset by reduced yields. The soybean yield is projected at 40.5 bushels/acre, down 3.4 bushels from last month. “The drop reflects sharply declining crop conditions resulting from limited rainfall since early April coupled with excessive heat across much of the producing area in late June and early July,” USDA said.

The U.S. season average soybean price is projected at $13.00-$15.00 per bushel, up $1.00 on both ends of the range from last month.

Mississippi Phosphates Corp. (MPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Phosphate Holdings Inc. on July 10 announced that it and Morocco’s OCP S.A. (OCP) have agreed to extend the term of their agreement for the purchase and sale of phosphate rock dated Aug. 27, 2009, through Dec. 31, 2012. The agreement was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2012. During the six-month extension, MPC intends to enter into discussions with OCP relating to the terms and conditions of a potential longer-term arrangement for the supply of phosphate rock to MPC’s Pascagoula, Miss., plant.

Agrium Inc. announced new potash postings, effective July 1, 2012, which are subject to change without notice. An earlier posting erroneously stated the prices were effective through Dec. 31, 2012.

The company’s postings FOB Vade, Saskatchewan, moved to $480/st for standard and $485/st for premium. Warehouse postings for red premium potash moved to $505/st FOB in North Dakota; $510/st FOB in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska; $517/st FOB Lynchburg, Va.; and $520/st FOB in Georgia and Florida.

Agrium’s postings for rail-delivered red premium potash moved on July 1 to $520/st in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas; and $530/st in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, the Carolinas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Tennessee, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

In the Pacific Northwest, Agrium’s potash postings moved on July 1 to $530/st FOB and $540/st rail-DEL in Southern Idaho, Utah, and Oregon’s Malheur County; $535/st FOB and $545/st rail-DEL in Washington, the Idaho panhandle, and Oregon excluding Malheur County and the Willamette Valley; and $540/st FOB and $550/st rail-DEL in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Agrium Inc. announced new potash postings, effective July 1 through Dec. 31, 2012. The company’s postings FOB Vade, Saskatchewan, moved to $480/st for standard and $485/st for premium. Warehouse postings for red premium potash moved to $505/st FOB in North Dakota; $510/st FOB in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska; $517/st FOB Lynchburg, Va.; and $520/st FOB in Georgia and Florida.

Agrium’s postings for rail-delivered red premium potash moved on July 1 to $520/st in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas; and $530/st in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, the Carolinas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Tennessee, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

In the Pacific Northwest, Agrium’s potash postings moved on July 1 to $530/st FOB and $540/st rail-DEL in Southern Idaho, Utah, and Oregon’s Malheur County; $535/st FOB and $545/st rail-DEL in Washington, the Idaho panhandle, and Oregon excluding Malheur County and the Willamette Valley; and $540/st FOB and $550/st rail-DEL in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.