Central Florida:
Central Florida DAP pricing continued to be quoted at $550/st FOB, steady from one week earlier. Truck-loaded MAP was priced at $580/st FOB at the top end, while sellers began accepting a limited number of orders at $565/st FOB, dropping the market to $565-$580/st FOB from the week-ago $580/st FOB.
U.S. Gulf:
Barge phosphate values were reported moving in divergent directions, with DAP tons firming while MAP edged lower. Loaded barges continued to draw a premium versus those loading later in the month, as traders worked to get material in place for the tail-end of the spring application season.
Prompt and loaded DAP barges reported trading at $550/st FOB early in the week shot to as high as $578/st FOB by April 8, sources reported, increasing from the week-ago $545/st FOB peak. Material slated to load later in the month was reported down to $525/st FOB, falling from the $535/st FOB prior-week low.
The MAP top end edged to $582/st FOB from the week-ago $585/st FOB ceiling, while a small number of all-April barges were reportedly trading for low as $525/st FOB. Full-April offers remained open at $535/st FOB on April 8, sources said.
DAP barges were noted stretching to a wide $525-$578/st FOB range from $535-$545/st FOB in the prior report, while MAP values slipped to $525-$582/st FOB from the week-ago $555-$585/st FOB.
U.S. Imports:
Imports of DAP were up 102.1 percent for February, to 105,389 st from the year-ago 52,156 st. July-February totals firmed 13.4 percent, to 754,436 st from the prior-year 665,390 st.
MAP/Other imports fell 52.7 percent for the July-February period, to 566,270 st from the year-ago 1.20 million st. February imports climbed 54.3 percent, however, to 70,434 st from the year-ago 45,633 st.
U.S. Exports:
DAP exports for February stood at 54,198 st, off 49.7 percent from the year-ago 107,706 st. July-February exports fell 32.7 percent, to 521,289 st from 775,014 st.
MAP/Other exports totaled 182,696 st in February, a 20.6 percent decrease from 230,190 st in February 2020. Exports were noted at 1.48 million st in July-February, down 16.4 percent from the year-ago 1.77 million st.
A lack of spot availability continued to hamstring new Gulf export activity, sources said.
Recent business included a 7,000 mt DAP cargo priced at $580/mt FOB. Indications for the next round of business were reported in the $585-$590/mt FOB range. With no new transactions reported, however, the Gulf phosphate export markets continued to be quoted at the last-done $580/mt FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt:
DAP pricing was quoted at $585-$605/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, up some $10-$20/st, with the low reported out of spot Illinois River terminals. Sources said the Cincinnati DAP market had firmed to $595-$605/st FOB on reports of tight supply.
MAP was pegged at $615-$635/st FOB in the region, with the low at Ottawa, Ill. Sources quoted the Cincinnati MAP market at $620-$625/st FOB in early April.
Western Cornbelt:
DAP pricing was unchanged at $570-$585/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low reported at St. Louis and the upper end at Dubuque, Iowa. MAP was pegged at $615-$630/st FOB in the region, with the St. Louis market quoted at $615-$625/st FOB in early April.
“Dry application is still going hard and most likely will not all get done before the planters roll,” said one Iowa contact at midweek.
The Catoosa/Inola market remained at $575-$585/st FOB for DAP and $625-$640/st FOB for MAP, with the St. Paul market quoted at $585-$590/st FOB for DAP and $625-$645/st FOB for MAP.
California:
The MAP market remained at a firm $690/st FOB or DEL in California in early April.
Pacific Northwest:
MAP pricing remained at $677/st FOB Aurora; $680/st DEL in Washington, Oregon, and northern Idaho; $670/st DEL in southern Idaho and Utah; and $660/st DEL in Montana.
Western Canada:
The MAP market in Western Canada was quoted at C$945-$955/mt FOB and C$950-$960/mt DEL in early April, up slightly from last report.
Saudi Arabia:
Phosphates loading from Saudi Arabia were noted firming to $500-$560/mt FOB, with most business expected to land toward the top of the range.
China:
The DAP market in China continues to soften. Sources now put the price at $530-$540/mt FOB, down from the upper-$550s/mt FOB from last week.
One trader said the producers may have allowed the price to come down without much of a fight to help establish a new floor. Sources said stronger prices from other phosphate producers, such as Saudi Arabia, and an ability for producers to shift from DAP to MAP or NPK production without much hassle, allows the producers to prevent too large of a surplus of DAP.
India:
More information came in on reports that an Indian buyer picked up a cargo of DAP from Saudi Arabia at $515/mt CFR. Soon after the amount was made public, rumors circulated that the producer denied that price level. This week, more sources stepped forward to confirm that the price was closer to $540/mt CFR.
Even at that level, said sources, the Indian buyer got a good deal when compared with the Chinese price and to where the Saudi price is moving.
The government announced limited new maximum retail prices (MRP) for DAP, effective April 1. The new MRP for IFFCO is 38,000 rupees/mt, or about $511/mt CFR. The company announced this week that it would sell the DAP it has on hand at the old price of 24,000 rupees/mt. In a statement reported by Bloomberg, IFFCO said any new material at the new rates will not be offered to farmers. It added that the new product it produces will be sent to storage for later sales and possibly lower levels.
A different price of 34,000 rupees/mt, or about $464/mt, was set for Mangalore Chemical, Zuari Agro, and Paradeep Phosphates. This price is only valid in the state of Karnataka.
Brazil:
Prices for MAP represented a wider range at Paranagua, with more players in the mix. Sources said Chinese MAP was being offered at $610-$620/mt CFR, Russian MAP was quoted at $630/mt CFR, and Moroccan product was at $640/mt CFR. At least one deal was reported inland for a port-equivalent price of $642/mt CFR.
Even with the multiple sources of material available, sources said the amount of MAP available at the ports is limited, which accounted for the rise at the upper end of the range since last week.
The Rondonopolis price dropped slightly at the top of the range, to $715-$763/mt FOB ex-warehouse. Sorriso also showed a slight softening at $715-$750/mt FOB.The barter rate for 1 mt of MAP remained at 37 bags of soy and 100 bags of corn at Rondonopolis. The rate at Southern Goias was put at 37.2 bags of soy and 66.2 bags of corn.