Central Florida:
DAP trucks loading from Central Florida were quoted at $620/st FOB, steady from one week earlier. Truck-loaded MAP was also unchanged at $655/st FOB.
U.S. Gulf:
A quiet trading week led to tightening DAP prices, sources reported, while MAP barges remained flat.
Limited import DAP barge volumes were reported changing hands down to $610/st FOB early in the week, increasing from the prior week’s $600/st FOB floor, while offers and trades of domestically produced material continued to be quoted up to $615/st FOB, falling from the week-ago $630/st FOB ceiling. Despite the shifting values, most players described a cautious optimism in the NOLA barge markets heading into the late-summer season.
Minimal MAP trading led to steady week-over-week values, most players said. A $645/st FOB sale early in the week remained unconfirmed on July 22.
With few trades reported, the nearby DAP barge market was noted tightening to $610-$615/st FOB, compared with the week-ago $600-$630/st FOB range. MAP values held steady at the prior week’s range of $648-$650/st FOB.
U.S. Exports:
Sources reported no new export transactions out of the U.S. Gulf for the week. Recent transactions consisted of a roughly 10,000 mt DAP load priced at $660/mt FOB, as well as a 5,000 mt MAP trade quoted at $685/mt FOB. Both cargoes were destined into Latin America, with shipping slated for late July or early August.
Lacking in fresh data points, the Gulf DAP export market continued to be called $660/mt FOB, while MAP held steady at $685/mt FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt:
DAP was unchanged at $645-$655/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location. MAP was pegged in the $677-$700/st FOB range in the region, with the low reported at East Dubuque, Ill. The Cincinnati market remained at $645-$655/st FOB for DAP and $685-$695/st FOB for MAP during the week.
Western Cornbelt:
DAP pricing was steady at $640-$650/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt in mid-July, with the lower end of the range confirmed at St. Louis. MAP remained in a broad range at $675-$700/st FOB, with the high reported at Dubuque, Iowa, and the low at St. Louis.
California:
MAP pricing was steady at $750/st rail-DEL and FOB French Camp, Helm, Richvale, Dixon, and El Centro in mid-July.
Pacific Northwest:
The MAP market in the Pacific Northwest remained at $737/st FOB Aurora, $740/st DEL in Washington, Oregon, and Nevada, and $730/st DEL in Idaho, Utah, and Montana.
Western Canada:
MAP prices were edging higher in Western Canada amid a weakening Canadian dollar. The market in mid-July was quoted at C$1,005-$1,020/mt FOB and C$1,010-$1,030/mt DEL, up C$35/mt at the low end of the DEL range.
Saudi Arabia:
The Saudi Arabia phosphate market was noted firming to the $585-$605/mt FOB range for the last business, up from $565-$580/mt FOB reported one week earlier.
China:
The Chinese DAP market was quiet. Sources said the price of $600/mt FOB is keeping many potential buyers away, with few indicators that prices will come down soon.
Ammonia traders noted that the high price of their product is directly hurting DAP producers and their efforts to sell. At the same time, many of the Chinese producers are not in a position that they need to sell product.
Output in the major DAP producing areas is severely down. Plants in Hubei Province are reportedly running at 65 percent of their rated capacity, while plants in Yunnan Province and Ghizhou Province are reported at 60 percent and 50 percent of rated capacity, respectively. Major producer YUC is said to be running at half of its 4.5 million mt/y capacity.
Besides facing higher prices for inputs such as sulfur, ammonia, and phos rock, producers are just getting over cutbacks in electricity as the power grid diverted power to residential use for air conditioning.
Even with the cutbacks, DAP exports were up 58 percent in the first half of the year, to 3.2 million mt from 2 million mt during the same period last year, according to Trade Data Monitor. The main buyers so far this year were India at 827,000 mt, Pakistan at 488,000 mt, Thailand at 385,000 mt, Vietnam at 270,000 mt, and Japan at 218,000 mt.
Second-quarter DAP exports were up 88 percent, to 2.3 million mt from 1.2 million mt last year. June exports this year were up 64 percent, to 914,000 mt from 557,000 mt in June 2020.
India:
The maximum retail price for DAP set by the government, in addition to no further subsidy help, has importers and producers in a bind in India. Demand is strong for DAP, but any imported tonnage would end up being sold at a loss. Likewise, the rising costs of inputs to make DAP have pushed the break-even price beyond the allowed price to farmers.
Sources said importers have been engaged in talks with Chinese and Arab producers to secure lower-priced material, but to no avail. At the same time, the domestic producers and importers are also arguing for more subsidies from the Indian government to allow sales to once again pick up.
Pakistan:
A deal between Engro and Yihua for a cargo of DAP came in at $610-$615/mt CFR. The price reflects some discounting from where Chinese producers see the market.
As prices for DAP keep rising, the government is reportedly ready to increase subsidies to ensure farmers have all the DAP they need.
Indonesia:
Of the multiple tenders that closed late last week, sources said only the 60,000 mt Gresik tender was awarded.The tender calls for three lots of 20,000 mt each, with the shipment of each lot in August, October, and December. Gresik did not reveal the settled price, and neither did the trading house that handled the deal.
Brazil:
The Paranagua MAP price showed a slight increase on the low end of the range, to $755-$770/mt CFR. Demand reportedly is still coming in for farmers looking to top-off their needs for the 2022 corn crop.
The demand from farmers has also moved up the Rondonopolis MAP price, which sources now report at $850-$855/mt FOB ex-warehouse. The price reflects a rebound as additional farmer demand kicks in.