Pusri scrapped its granular urea tender over the weekend after bids failed to meet the lowest price Pusri would accept. The reference price was pegged at $420/mt FOB. The highest bid, however, came in at $405/mt FOB from Samsung. Subsequent bids were significantly lower.

Sources say Pusri will call a new tender soon. In the process of issuing the new tender, said one trader, Pusri will be able to propose a new floor for pricing. The trader added that no one will know that new level until the new tender closes and all bids are recorded.

This tender showed an average price of $394.75/mt FOB for the granular material. The average bid price for granular material in the tender that closed Jan. 20 was $402.92/mt FOB.

In the previous tender the highest bid did surpass the floor price. At that time Ameropa took the business at $422.25/mt FOB.

Sources say the bids reflect the softening global urea market. One trader noted that major buying for Asia will not pick up until the second quarter. Another concurred and added that soft demand from U.S. buyers is adding to the general malaise within the marketplace.

New England Fertilizer Co. (NEFCO), West Palm Beach, Fla., has a team of investigators on the scene here to determine the cause of an explosion at a biosolid fertilizer facility Tuesday morning, Jan. 24. One employee identified as a chief operator who was transported for observation as a precaution is reported out of the hospital and in good condition.

“Operations are down and the facility will not be restarted until the cause of the explosion has been determined,” NEFCO spokeswoman Virginia Grace told Green Markets. She said General Manager Jim Sullivan is heading up the investigation and has been joined by others from the corporate office at North Quincy, Mass., and outside consultants from all over the country.

A NEFCO statement reported, “An explosion inside the building took place while the plant was shut down for routine maintenance and cleaning. There were no community or environmental impacts associated with the event.” According to Sullivan, at this time the company is unable to provide any further specifics, as it is in the process of developing a comprehensive incident report to determine the cause. “We will not commence operations at this facility until we completely understand the situation, and we will not put the safety of any of our employees in jeopardy at this plant until all safety issues are resolved.” In the meantime, NEFCO has invoked a back-up plan to manage biosolids for the Solid Waste Authority while the processing facility is temporarily shut down.”

Grace added that any damage caused by the explosion appears to be confined to one of two process trains. Pending the outcome of the investigation it is possible one train will be back in operation by the end of the week, Jan. 28.

West Palm Beach city spokesman Chase Scott told the local press the explosion was forceful enough to blow off heavy metal doors. West Palm Beach Fire-Rescue was called to the plant at about 5:15 a.m. Scott said three people were on the job at the time and that the explosion happened during a routine maintenance and cleaning while the plant was shut down, but it is unclear whether that procedure sparked the event. "There’s some significant damage," he said. "They have large, heavy industrial doors on the east and west sides. They were peeled up or blown off by the explosion." The waste treatment plant produces pelletized biosolids for use as fertilizer.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. said Jan. 26 that its earnings for the year ending Dec. 31, 2011, were the second highest in history. Net income was $3.08 billion ($3.51 per diluted share) on sales of $8.71 billion, up from the prior year $1.77 billion ($1.95 per share) on sales of $6.53 billion.

Fourth quarter net income was up at $683 million ($.78 per share) on sales of $1.86 billion, compared to the year-ago $508 million ($.56 per share) on sales of $1.81 billion.

PotashCorp said it believes that any short-term challenges the industry may be facing do not change the powerful drivers of its business. “The return on fertilizer investment continues to be attractive to farmers world-wide and is expected to result in greater demand in the quarters ahead,” said PotashCorp President and CEO Bill Doyle.

In other news, on Jan. 25, PotashCorp announced that it is doubling its dividend. The company’s board has approved an increase of the company’s quarterly cash dividend (from $0.07 per share to $0.14 per share), and declared a quarterly cash dividend of US $0.14 per common share payable May 3, 2012 to shareholders of record on April 12, 2012.

“In addition to using our strong cash flow to grow our world-class fertilizer business, we have a proven track record of returning capital to our shareholders”, said Doyle. “This announcement to double the dividend – the second time in the past year – reflects the confidence we have in the drivers of our business and our commitment to creating superior long-term shareholder value.”