Central Florida:
Central Florida DAP trucks moved up $10/st to a flat $570/st FOB, while MAP held steady at $600/st FOB. North Florida MAP prices were stable at $630/st FOB.
US Gulf:
NOLA DAP traded multiple times in the $540-$555/st FOB range, players said, rising from $540-$546/st FOB at last report, while third-quarter trades were reported at $550-$555/st FOB.
Thin availability continued to impact the MAP barge market. Sources reported business concluding at $643/st FOB, above last week’s $600-$620/st FOB range.
US Imports:
April DAP imports were 70,369 st, a sharp increase from the year-ago 2,421 st. July-April volumes totaled 1.50 million st, up roughly 100.0% from 747,815 st in the prior year. July-April imports from Saudi Arabia were noted at 937,180 st, followed by 294,902 st from Jordan. Egypt shipped 126,765 st.
April MAP/Other imports stood at 89,036 st, up 2,606.3% from the 3,290 st reported last April. July-April volumes were noted at 866,049 st, a 22.4% rise from the year-ago 707,770 st. Saudi Arabia topped the seller list with 272,232 st, beating 193,865 st from Mexico and 175,777 st from Tunisia.
US Exports:
The last reported DAP export business continued at $550/mt FOB. With no MAP exports reported from the US Gulf in recent months, the market’s last public spot transaction continued to be quoted at the $570/mt FOB level.
DAP exports softened 49.9% in April, to 20,221 st from the year-go 40,343 st. July-April exports were 381,697 st, down 39.7% from the prior 633,291 st. US DAP sellers sent 95,398 st to Peru in July-April, ahead of 70,444 st to Uruguay and 49,209 st to Brazil. Canada took 48,033 st.
July-April MAP/Other exports were counted at 1.75 million st, down 4.1% from the year-ago 1.82 million st. April shipments fell 4.5%, to 210,069 st from 219,961 st in the prior April. Canada received 1.43 million st of MAP from the US in July-April, ahead of 111,136 st to Australia and 44,189 st to Brazil. Mexico bought 42,943 st.
Eastern Cornbelt:
DAP remained at $600-$640/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported out of spot Illinois River terminals for June-July offers. MAP prices firmed to $660-$685/st FOB in the region, depending on location. The latest Cincinnati offers were pegged at $615-$620/st FOB for DAP and $675-$685/st FOB for MAP.
Western Cornbelt:
DAP remained at $630-$650/st FOB and MAP at $660-$680/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the St. Louis market pegged at $640-$650/st FOB for DAP and $665-$675/st FOB for MAP.
Northern Plains:
DAP was pegged at $640-$660/st FOB St. Paul, with MAP at $670-$680/st FOB.
Northeast:
DAP slipped to $675/st FOB East Liverpool, down $5-$10/st from last report, with MAP unchanged at the $700/st FOB level at that location.
Eastern Canada:
MAP pricing in Eastern Canada slipped to C$955-$995/mt FOB, down C$20/mt at the low end of the range, with DAP falling to C$925/mt FOB Montreal, also down C$20/mt.
Benelux:
DAP prices in Benelux were stable at €590-€600/mt FCA. This translates to a lower $633-$643/mt FCA range at midweek exchange rates, with the euro depreciating against the US dollar. While availability is limited given trends in the global market, demand is also muted.
Morocco:
A flurry of Moroccan DAP sales into Europe reflected netbacks of around $585/mt FOB, representing the high end of the range. Indian netbacks from bids received in the recent RCF tender reflected the low end at $495/mt FOB.
Up to $600/mt FOB was reportedly achieved on European sales, but for very small volumes and was therefore not included in the weekly range. No new Tunisian sales were reported, but indicative prices were reported as broadly in line with Moroccan values.
Baltic:
MAP prices in the Baltic moved up to $540-$560/mt FOB, reflecting higher Brazilian CFR levels.
China:
Sources reported regular small-lot DAP shipments of under 10,000 mt from China, mostly shipped in containers, with no reports of large cargoes being loaded for export. Prices remained in the low-$520s/mt FOB.
January-May DAP exports were counted at 1 million mt, Trade Data Monitor reported, down about one-third from the 1.5 million mt shipped through the same period of 2023. India took about 25% of the exports with 257,000 mt, followed by Thailand with 146,000 mt and Vietnam with 136,000 mt. May exports were 487,000 mt, down slightly from 516,000 mt in May 2023.
China exported 615,000 mt of MAP in January-May, a 30% decline from the year-ago 878,000 mt. Brazil took 226,000 mt, Argentina bought 84,000 mt, and Australia received 78,000 mt. May exports were 305,000 mt, up 47% from 208,000 mt in May 2023.
India:
DAP supplies are low in India, and several state-owned enterprises have conducted tenders to set a price for additional purchases. The most recent call was orchestrated by National Fertilizers Ltd. (NFL), which received only one offer in the upper-$530s/mt CFR.
While NFL scrapped the tender after receiving just the single offer, sources said the Indian market appears to sit in the $530s/mt CFR. Another test of pricing ideas will come on June 25, when a Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) tender for 100,000 mt of DAP is scheduled to close. The company requested deliveries to be split evenly between the east and west coasts.
The size of the tender indicates that RCF is looking to send DAP directly to farmers instead of using it for NPK production, sources said. One trader noted that RCF’s NPK plant can only accommodate cargoes of 20,000 mt or less.
For now, the price of DAP is too expensive for any of the private-sector companies to import and make a profit. Based on current import prices, the maximum selling price will not allow importers to make any money – even once subsidies are applied. However, state-owned enterprises have other ways of receiving government support to cover DAP imports, said one trader.
If the DAP price remains high, one trader noted that some farmers may consider substituting urea for DAP, even if the nutrient formulation is not optimal for their crops.
DAP imports softened 53% in January-April, according to Trade Data Monitor, falling to 726,000 mt from the year-ago 1.5 million mt. Saudi Arabia sent 384,000 mt for 53% of imports, followed by Morocco with 232,000 mt. April imports were reported at 238,000 mt, a slight decline from the 242,000 mt received one year earlier.
The limits on Chinese DAP exports were evident in the Indian import numbers. January-April imports were reported at 33,000 mt, a 90% drop from the 324,000 mt received in January-April 2023.
Brazil:
MAP imports climbed to $610-$620/mt CFR, up from $600-$605/mt CFR at last report. New offers were reportedly scarce amid an ongoing period of high demand, sources said.
Supply limitations continued to affect some regions of midwestern Brazil, leading to higher prices in recent weeks. While there were no definitive shortages in the country’s southeast and northeast areas, short-term availability was reduced. Despite the higher prices, the market progressed well in recent negotiations, with just 10-20% of seasonal phosphate demand remaining in Mato Grosso state. Rondonópolis prices continued at $730-$760/mt FOB.
Brazil’s import window has narrowed heading into July, and product from some international trade partners will take too long to arrive for the current season. Imports of Russian MAP remained above 950,000 mt for the year-to-date, a 2% decrease from 2023, while larger import declines were seen from Morocco and the US.