Central Florida:
Central Florida DAP postings continued at $620/st FOB for truck-loaded product, steady from the prior report. MAP trucks were quoted at $655/st FOB, also unchanged from one week earlier. MAP loading from Northern Florida was posted at $640/st FOB.
U.S. Gulf:
NOLA barge values for both DAP and MAP edged lower during the week.
July DAP barges were generally noted up to $620/st FOB, while a barge that changed hands early in the week was reportedly valued at $630/st FOB, a decline from the prior week’s $635/st FOB ceiling.
A $615/st FOB trading low quoted on July 13 softened into the $600-$610/st FOB range on July 14, sources said. As a result, the NOLA DAP market for the trading week was quoted at $600-$630/st FOB, down from $605-$635/st FOB during the previous week.
Nearby MAP barges were also seen inching lower, to $648-$650/st FOB from the prior week’s $650-$655/st FOB range.
U.S. Exports:
Nothing new was reported on the week’s DAP and MAP Gulf export markets. Recent business included a $660/mt FOB DAP transaction weighing in above 10,000 mt and scheduled to load for Latin America in late July or early August, as well as a 5,000 mt MAP cargo fetching a reported $685/mt FOB and slated to ship in a similar timeframe.
With no new transactions reported, the Gulf DAP export market continued to be reported at $660/mt FOB, with MAP ringing in at $685/mt FOB. Both prices were unmoved from the prior report.
Eastern Cornbelt:
DAP was pegged at $645-$655/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt. MAP remained in the $677-$700/st FOB in the region, with the low reported at East Dubuque, Ill. The Cincinnati market was reported at $645-$655/st FOB for DAP and $685-$695/st FOB for MAP in mid-July.
Western Cornbelt:
DAP was quoted at $640-$650/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt in mid-July, with the lower end of the range confirmed at St. Louis and reflecting a $5/st drop from last report. MAP was pegged in a broad range at $675-$700/st FOB, with the high reported at Dubuque, Iowa, and the low at St. Louis.
Southern Plains:
DAP prices remained at $645-$650/st FOB Catoosa/Inola and $660/st FOB Houston. The MAP market was steady at $690/st FOB Houston, while pricing at Catoosa/Inola was reported in a wider range at $685-$700/st FOB, depending on supplier.
South Central:
DAP was pegged at $640-$650/st FOB terminals in the South Central region, depending on location, with few new sales reported to test the market.
Southeast:
Nutrien’s DAP and MAP prices at Aurora, N.C., remained at a firm $640/st FOB in mid-July.
Saudi Arabia:
Phosphates loading from Saudi Arabia remained in the $565-$580/mt FOB range for the week, sources said.
China:
Sources reported sales of DAP to Latin American buyers pushing the netback to $600/mt FOB. The sales are sure to push up the prices offered to buyers in Southeast Asia and India, much to their dismay.
The higher prices are having an impact on traders with awards from tenders. The Bangladesh DAP tender was expected to be supplied from China. However, only two small cargoes were covered before prices from producers moved past the awarded prices.
Buyers in Southeast Asia are facing offers at $620/mt CFR and up. Sources said no deals have been done at that level, so far.
India:
Sources reported that the NFL DAP tender for 100,000 mt had to be scrapped because no one offered tons. Prices are still in the upper-$570s/mt CFR at a time when the government-ordered maximum price is much lower. International traders said India needs the DAP, but at the current rate for product, the importers will lose money on each sale.
Domestic producers are not in much better shape. The cost of inputs, from sulfur to ammonia to phos acid, have all gone so high that the breakeven point in pricing exceeds the government limited maximum.
Indonesia:
Indonesia closed a DAP tender on July 14 with shipments to various recipients.Gresik is to receive three lots of 20,000 mt in the third weeks of August, October, and December.Kaltim is to get two lots of 10,000 mt in August and November, and Pusri is slated for 5,000 mt for the second week of December.
Sources said it would take a brave trader to commit to shipments past September.
Russia:
Russian exports of DAP for the first five months of the year were down about 9 percent, Trade Data Monitor reported, to 599,000 mt from 656,000 mt during the same period in 2020. The largest single buyer so far this year was Mexico at 100,000 mt. May 2021 DAP exports were down 26 percent, to 53,000 mt from 71,000 mtin May 2020.
Exports of MAP for January-May 2021 were up 18 percent, to 1.1 million mt from 940,000 mt during the same period in 2020. Brazil and Estonia dominated the purchases this year with 525,000 mt and 321,000 mt, respectively.
May 2021 exports of MAP were up 74 percent, to 343,000 mt from 197,000 mt in May 2020. Brazil dominated the May 2021 purchases with 245,000 mt.
Brazil:
More MAP has been showing up at the ports in Brazil. Even with the extra tons arriving, the price stabilized at $750-$770/mt CFR. Sources said most of the buying seems to be either deals on a formula basis or in small spot volumes.
The presence of more MAP at the ports appeared to have an impact inland. Sources said the Rondonopolis price has dipped slightly to $820-$830/mt FOB ex-warehouse.
Some of the price stability seems to stem from the fact that most of the summer market buying is done. Dealers are now looking to ensure they have sufficient trucks to move their products to the farmers when demand picks up again in September.