All posts by webster@kennedyinfo.com

Nitrogen Solutions

California, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Pacific N.W., U.S. Gulf, UAN, Western Canada, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: UAN barges continued to strengthen. Sources placed the latest trades within the $380-$400/st FOB ($11.87-$12.50/unit) range, with some expecting the next trades to rise to $420-$430/st FOB.

February imports were up 25 percent, to 265,767 st from the year-ago 212,950 st. July-February imports were up 8 percent, to 2.35 million st from 2.18 million st.

Eastern Cornbelt: Preplant movement continued at a brisk pace in the region, and UAN prices continued to climb equally fast. The low end of the UAN-28 market was quoted at $368-$369/st ($13.14-$13.18/unit) FOB Cincinnati, Ohio, while other locations in the state had reportedly reposted as high as $380-$382.50/st ($13.57-$13.66/unit) FOB last week.

Several sources said they anticipate an equally rapid drop in UAN pricing when the sidedress rush subsides later this spring. One regional supplier was referenced at $13.05-$13.10/unit FOB Illinois terminals for cash market tons last week, but those pricing levels dropped to $9.15-$9.30/unit FOB for forward tons shipped in August or later.

Western Cornbelt: UAN pricing covered a broad range in the Western Cornbelt region. The UAN-32 dealer market was pegged in the $416-$440/st ($13.00-$13.75/unit) range FOB most regional terminals, indicating another jump from the previous week. The low end of the range was reported at the $12.95/unit mark FOB St. Louis, Mo., for limited cash market tons.

California: The UAN-32 market was up dramatically in California. Sources quoted dealer pricing at $395-$405/st ($12.34-$12.66/unit) FOB in the state, depending on location and supplier. Effective April 4, Agrium’s UAN-32 postings moved to $410/st ($12.81/unit) FOB Sacramento, Calif., and $440/st ($13.75/unit) truck-DEL in California.

Pacific Northwest: Washington sources quoted the UAN-32 market at $420-$430/st ($13.13-$13.44/unit) DEL last week, up dramatically from last report and significantly higher than the $385/st ($12.03/unit) DEL levels reported in late March and early April. Effective April 12, IRM moved its UAN-32 posting to $420/st ($13.13/unit) DEL in eastern Oregon and Washington.

Agrium’s UAN-32 postings moved on April 4 to $430/st ($13.44/unit) rail-DEL in Washington, northern Idaho, and Oregon excluding Malheur County; $430/st ($13.44/unit) truck-DEL in northwestern Oregon; $435/st ($13.59/unit) rail-DEL and $440/st ($13.75/unit) truck-DEL in Nevada, Utah, southern Idaho, and Oregon’s Malheur County; and $440/st ($13.75/unit) DEL in Montana and northern Wyoming. UAN-28 postings in Montana and northern Wyoming also moved on April 4 to $385/st ($13.75/unit) DEL.

Western Canada: The UAN-28 market was pegged at $475-$490/mt ($16.96-$17.50/unit) DEL in Western Canada, with the low again reported in the Manitoba market and the upper end in Alberta. That range reflected a nearly $60/mt increase from last report.

Urea

Bangladesh, Black Sea, California, Eastern Cornbelt, India, Indonesia, Market Watch, Middle East, Pacific N.W., Pakistan, U.S. Gulf, Urea, Western Canada, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: While barges were moving last week, prices barely budged compared to the prior week run-up. Sources suggested that prices finally met resistance, but others forewarned that there is much demand still to be met – and once it hits, prices may again move up.

Most said the market spanned a broad range last week. It started off toward the higher end of the prior week at $720-$730/st FOB, then retreated to as low as $700-$705/st FOB before regaining some steam within the $710-$715/st FOB range as the week wound down.

May granular urea barges were called anywhere from $575-$625/st FOB, with the higher number for first half May.

Prills were called $670-$680/st FOB.

February urea imports were up 9 percent, to 536,864 st from the year-ago 493,798 st. However, July-February imports were off 11 percent, to 4.18 million st from 4.67 million st.

Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing was pegged in the $700-$720/st FOB range in the Eastern Cornbelt.

Western Cornbelt: Granular urea was quoted at $730-$740/st FOB Western Cornbelt terminals, with most sources reporting the upper end of that range as the common dealer market at midweek. Out of the Catoosa, Okla., market, sources quoted granular urea pricing in the $725-$730/st FOB range.

California: Some suppliers were out of urea in California last week. Where tons were for sale, sources quoted the dealer market at $645-$655/st FOB. Agrium reposted its granular urea prices in California on March 30 at $650/st FOB West Sacramento; $660/st FOB Hanford and Richvale; $685/st truck-DEL in Central California; $695/st truck-DEL in the Northern California counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, and Trinity; and $705/st truck-DEL in Imperial, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties.

Pacific Northwest: Granular urea pricing firmed on April 12 from $615/st to $650/st FOB Rivergate, Ore. Regional sources quoted delivered urea in a very broad range at $645-$785/st last week, but acknowledged that the low end of the range was disappearing quickly as the market ratchets up.

Western Canada: Sources quoted the granular urea market at $750-$775/mt DEL in Western Canada last week, up nearly $100/mt from last report, with the lower end of the range reported in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and the upper end in Alberta and British Columbia.

Black Sea: The hot urea market has moved up prices in Yuzhnyy to beyond $500/mt FOB.

Sources report firm deals have been done at $500-$505/mt FOB, with offers now starting at $510/mt FOB. April material is long gone, as is first half of May, say sources. Most of the deals were done by traders looking to secure tons in a rapidly moving market.

Industry watchers say at this time of year the Yuzhnyy tons usually end up in Europe in competition with material from Egypt and the Arab Gulf. This time, said one trader, Iranian tons are being included in the mix.

Reportedly at least one French buyer is looking to import Iranian granular in early May. The discount on the urea makes the cargo competitive against the Black Sea and Baltic material.

Middle East: Prices have moved up in the region so fast that people’s heads are spinning.

Early last week a deal reportedly took place from Oman at $600/mt FOB. The cargo, sources say, was bound for the red-hot U.S. NOLA market.

Offers are now coming in at $610/mt FOB for granular, and a bit lower for prills. The rapid rise in price from the area is playing havoc with a number of markets.

Sources now report that Emmsons is having a hard time securing the 500,000 mt it is committed to supply to India. It seems that the award-win

Ammonia

Ammonia, Bangladesh, Black Sea, California, Eastern Cornbelt, India, Indonesia, Market Watch, Middle East, Pacific N.W., Pakistan, U.S. Gulf, Western Canada, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Nothing new was reported in these markets, as Tampa still awaits May pricing, leaving all the attention on the domestic inland markets.

U.S. anhydrous ammonia imports in February were up 18 percent, to 643,232 st from the year-ago 543,533 st. However, July-February imports were off 4 percent, to 4.85 million st from 5.06 million st.

Eastern Cornbelt: Heavy preplant demand for anhydrous ammonia continued to drain inventories at regional terminals, and numerous locations in the Eastern Cornbelt were out of product last week. Where spot tons were available, sources pegged the dealer market in the $710-$730/st FOB range out of Illinois locations, and as high as $750/st FOB Indiana terminals.

One source noted that the heavy preplant demand will likely segue quickly to brisk sidedress demand.

CF’s ammonia postings for the April 12-13 shipping period included $720/st FOB Albany, Ill.; $730/st FOB Kingston Mines, Peru, and Seneca, Ill., and Courtright, Ontario; $740/st FOB Cowden, Ill.; and $750/st FOB Huntington and Terra Haute, Ind.

Western Cornbelt: Sources continued to report difficulty sourcing ammonia tons out of some regional terminals due to supply outages and heavy preplant demand. Iowa contacts tagged the upper end of the market at $690/st FOB out of locations that were still selling spot tons last week, with the low end of the regional range reported at $660/st FOB in Nebraska on a spot basis. One source reported that he was able to find limited tons at only one Nebraska terminal at midweek.

CF’s ammonia postings for the April 12-13 shipping period included $630/st FOB Nebraska terminals at Aurora, Blair, Fremont, Greenwood, and Hastings; $640/st FOB Whiting and Port Neal, Iowa; $670/st FOB Garner, Iowa; $720/st FOB Palmyra, Mo.; $730/st FOB Glenwood, Minn.; $740/st FOB Pine Bend, Minn., and Grand Forks, N.D.; and $760/st FOB Velva, N.D.

In the Southern Plains market, CF’s April 12-13 ammonia postings included $570/st FOB Verdigris and Woodward, Okla.; $610/st FOB Conway, Kan.; and $620/st FOB Clay Center, Kan. One Midwest source who said he was pulling tons from Oklahoma production points quoted a $570-$580/st FOB market for any available material at midweek, with delivery pegged at the $670/st level to central Missouri.

California: Effective April 6, Calamco’s ammonia postings in the California market firmed to $655/st truck-DEL for anhydrous, $178/st FOB for aqua, and $285/st truck-DEL for AN-20. Those levels reflect a $70/st increase from the company’s Feb. 27 list price for anhydrous, an $18/st increase for aqua, and a $20/st increase for AN-20.

Pacific Northwest: Washington sources pegged the anhydrous ammonia market at $660-$675/st DEL last week, with the upper end for truck-delivered tons and the low for railed product on a spot basis.

Western Canada: The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $996-$1,010/mt DEL in Manitoba, $1,010-$1,019/mt DEL in Saskatchewan, and $1,019-$1,040/mt DEL in Alberta.

Fieldwork was underway in much of Western Canada, although cool temperatures delayed planting in southern Manitoba last week. Some cereal grains were reportedly planted as early as late March in parts of the region, thanks to unseasonably mild weather conditions.

Middle East: The failure of Qafco 5 to come fully online continues to play havoc with the regional ammonia market. Sources say buyers who were expecting to take tons from the new facility remain disappointed as they scramble to find spot tons elsewhere.

Increased demand in Asia is helping push the pricing expectations higher out of the region. Unfortunately for those who would like to see higher prices posted, the

The Week in Fertilizer Stocks

Fertilizer Stocks

The Week in Fertilizer Stocks

Producer Symbol Price Week Ago Year Ago
Agrium AGU 86.38 87.23 89.12
CF Industries CF 188.89 186.64 133.82
CVR Partners UAN 28.00 27.44 17.06
Intrepid Potash IPI 23.30 23.56 33.77
Mosaic MOS 51.17 52.96 76.67
PotashCorp* POT 43.50 45.13 56.13
Rentech Nitrogen RNF 27.95 28.05 N/A
Terra Nitrogen TNH 284.00 260.48 97.02
Distribution/Retail
Andersons Inc. ANDE 48.41 48.68 47.38
Deere & Co. DE 79.34 81.83 91.43
Scotts SMG 52.85 52.94 56.69
* represents three-for-one stock split

Spur Ventures Inc. – Management Brief

Management Briefs

Spur Ventures Inc., Vancouver, has appointed John Morgan as president, CEO, and a director of the company effective immediately. He succeeds Dr. Rob Rennie, who has retired following the completion of the company’s sale of its phosphate business in China. Dr. Rennie will remain with the company as a director and has agreed to remain as an advisor to the board in order to ensure an orderly transition.

Morgan is a geologist with a 35-year career as a mining executive. He has been involved in all phases of mine exploration, planning, and development, primarily in gold and coal in a variety of jurisdictions, including Central and South America and Canada. Morgan has participated in a diverse range of corporate activities, including technical reports and feasibility studies, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and major corporate financings. He is fluent in Spanish.

Spur said Morgan will be responsible for executing the company’s strategy to pursue potential acquisitions in gold, base metals, or other mineral assets or businesses that are in more advanced stages of development where the balance of technical and geopolitical risk is intended to result in increased value to Spur’s shareholders within a relatively short timeframe.

Spur granted Morgan a total of 1 million stock options pursuant to the company’s stock option plan at $0.40 per share for five years, subject to regulatory approval.

H.J. Baker & Bro. Inc. – Management Brief

Management Briefs

Kevin Vance has been hired by H.J. Baker & Bro. Inc., Westport, Conn., to serve as eastern sales manager for the company’s Fertilizer Group. Vance will oversee sales efforts throughout Eastern Canada and in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Southeast regions in the U.S. Vance was previously president of Agri-Marketing in Cape Core, Fla., and has more than 16 years of sales experience selling specialty fertilizer products through manufacturers and distributors throughout the U.S. “We are very pleased that Kevin is joining H.J. Baker,” said Don Cherry, vice president of H.J. Baker and president of the Fertilizer Group. “He has a terrific track record increasing sales, outstanding customer service and strategic business development. As H.J. Baker’s Fertilizer Group continues to grow, Kevin will play a critical role in making sure we are responding to customers while continuing to provide superior products.”

CVR advisors meet with Icahn

News, News Briefs

Sugar Land, Texas — CVR Energy Inc. advisors on April 12 met with billionaire investor Carl Icahn and his associates to discuss Icahn’s offer to buy CVR shares and his proxy contest (GM April 9, p. 1), according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. CVR said no confidential information about the company was provided to Icahn during these discussions. It added that CVR can provide no assurance regarding the likelihood that these discussions will continue, or the outcome of these discussions.

Uralkali profit up 64 percent in 2011

News, News Briefs, Russia

Moscow — Uralkali reported a 64 percent increase in net profit for 2011, to US$1.53 billion on revenues of $4.2 billion on a pro forma basis, combining the full-year results of Uralkali and Silvinit. 2010 profits were $929 million for Uralkali and Silvinit on revenues of $2.98 billion. Adjusted EBITDA moved up to $2.46 billion from 2010’s $1.4 billion. Total 2011 sales were 10.65 million mt (8.78 million mt export, 1.87 million mt domestic), versus 2010’s 10.01 million mt (8.31 million mt export, 1.70 million mt domestic). Average potash prices for the year 2011 were $351/mt FCA for export and $203/mt domestic, compared to 2010’s $255/mt FCA export and $150/mt domestic, respectively. Production was 10.83 million mt, up from 2010’s 10.18 million mt. Like other potash producers, Uralkali saw a lull in sales in the fourth quarter 2011, which it said has continued into first quarter 2012. As a result, it says 2012 demand may be below that of 2011. First-quarter 2012 production was 1.9 million mt, compared to 2.6 million mt for the year-ago quarter.

Mosaic increases dividend

News, News Briefs

Plymouth, Minn. — The Mosaic Co. announced April 12 that its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share on the company’s common stock. The dividend will be paid on May 17, 2012, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 3, 2012. The $0.125 per share dividend represents a 150 percent increase over the company’s previous dividend.