AMMONIA
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: A new wave of business at Tampa is pointing to higher prices. While Mosaic was reported to have bought two partial cargoes from Yuzhnyy at the existing $297/mt DEL, another deal for tons from Terra’s Trinidad operations was reportedly inked at $303/mt DEL. The latter increased seller resolve to move prices up.
In the meantime, Mosaic was reported to have sold a couple of prompt barges at the $270/st FOB mark.
DOC statistics may help explain the late summer slump in Tampa prices, as ammonia imports were up 43 percent into the U.S. in July. According to DOC, July 2007 imports were 792,844 st, up from the year-ago 553,287 st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Although a lot of prepay ammonia was booked earlier at the $465/st FOB level for fall, sources last week pegged the cash market at $480-$490/st FOB regional terminals, with the low in Illinois and the upper end in Indiana. One supplier was offering forward contract ammonia for October through December at $490-$500/st FOB in the region.
Western Cornbelt: The ammonia cash market was generally quoted at $465-$475/st FOB in the region, with few new sales to test the market. Sources talked of a significant amount of prepay already booked for spring 2008, with claims that one supplier has sold 20 percent of their allocated spring tons in the $500-$510/st FOB range to the dealer. On a forward contract basis, another supplier was referencing ammonia for October through December at $475/st FOB in Nebraska, $485/st FOB in Iowa, and $490/st FOB in Missouri.
Northern Plains: Sources quoted the regional ammonia market at $480-$485/st FOB to the dealer, with the upper level reflecting forward contract reference pricing for October through January. Delivered ammonia was pegged in the $490-$495/st range in North Dakota. Dakota Gasification’s plant at Beulah, N.D., was back to full rates after some summer downtime, and sources reported a recent plant turnaround at Leal, N.D., as well.
Southern Plains: Coffeyville Resources said last week that it fielded multiple calls after an incident Sept. 6, with callers asking about an “explosion.” It issued the following statement: “While we don’t discuss operational details, the refinery is up and running. There has been no explosion. We had a loss of instrument air to our refinery yesterday which was caused by a ripple effect of an outage from a supplier to our nitrogen fertilizer operations. As a standard procedure, we briefly evacuated non-essential personnel from the refinery.”
Eastern Canada: With no fall ammonia business in the region, sources reported no updates for that market. The last price quote had rail-DEL ammonia at the $595/mt mark in Ontario and Quebec from locations in Western Canada. One source said growers will probably start inquiring about spring 2008 ammonia in December.
Trinidad: Yara continues to negotiate with the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) after the July 31 expiration of a three-year contract. While OWTU members staged a protest in August, according to the local press, Yara said last week that there has been no work stoppage as a result of the contract negotiations. However, one plant was down for two weeks but has restarted. The outage was due to technical issues and statutory requirements, said the company.
Black Sea: Continued strong demand from Europe and the U.S. is providing a solid floor on prices and an ever so gentle nudge upward. Asian sources report the price remains in the high $260s/mt FOB, while others report they have moved up.
As plants come off turnarounds, pressure on the price is expected. For most of August and early September, availability of material was limited by a series of rotating shutdowns. Sources say by the first of October all the plants will be back in full operation.
Middle East: With only contracts being fulfilled at this time, sources say there are no concrete markers to signal price changes. Observers are forced to use other indicators to figure out where a spot price might be if a deal is made.
The denial of an export permit for urea prompted an Iranian producer to shift to ammonia, and thus provided new business that pushed the floor into the $220s/mt FOB. The swiftness exhibited by Yara to snap up the tons late last month indicated to some how short Yara was.
Reports continue to circulate that reserves are building. Indian buyers are taking the minimum quantities required by their contracts. While other buyers are also taking their contracted tons on time, it is the lack of additional Indian business that is driving the concern about the regional ammonia market.
Indian phosphate producers are not getting the necessary inputs for full production. Some say it is a shortage of phos acid, others say it is a shortage of phosphate rock, and still others say it is a combination of both. Whatever the reason, ammonia demand is down in India, and that means the Middle East producers are being forced to stockpile tons that normally would have been shipped.
For one observer, the growing stockpiles in the producers’ tanks can only mean continued downward pressure on prices.
An Asian source said the $220/mt FOB price represented the floor. He expects to see prices rebound slightly as some Asian demand gets stronger. He noted that material that might have been sold by Indonesian producers may not materialize, forcing buyers to look to the Middle East or elsewhere.
Until some new public business can be confirmed, sources are putting the market at $220-$225/mt FOB.
Asia: The joint venture operations in Indonesia – KPI and KPA – are slated to go down starting next month. Each plant will be closed for routine maintenance for three to four weeks each. Sources report the Asian market will experience a tight market through November as a result.
Downstream users of ammonia are said to be comfortable with both the quantity of ammonia they are receiving and the prices received for their final products. Any tightness and subsequent run-up in prices that may occur should be absorbed easily, said one source.
Once KPI and KPA come back online, sources say at least one Japanese buyer may take more of the Indonesian output than previously planned.
The company is said to be ready to reduce production at one of its older and less efficient facilities in Japan in favor of imported Indonesian tons.
A number of Japanese producers are just coming off a two-year program of updating existing plants.
Some of the plants were forced to shut down in 2005 because of safety violations. At the time, the plant operators scrambled to ensure their customers were covered. Many turned to importing material.
Now that most of the upgrades are completed, sources say imports will be used to supplement domestic production when the international market moves in a favorable direction.
UREA
U.S. Gulf: Granular barges were called stable-to-firmer last week. Many sources called the market $332-$335/st FOB early-to-midweek, with numbers firmly within that range. However, others reported that later in the week $337-$338/st was actually done, not just quoted. One player said current NOLA numbers do not adequately reflect rising inland numbers.
In the meantime, a Sabic vessel was reportedly on the outskirts of NOLA and its product was already sold. Regardless, buyers point to various other cargoes slated to come in later in the year as giving them more opportunities to buy at a lower price.
Prills continued to be strong, with the last done business called $345/st FOB.
U.S. urea imports were up 31 percent in July – to 299,994 st, up from the year-ago 228,377 st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing was up from last report, with the dealer market quoted at $365-$370/st FOB in the region.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea was tagged at $365-$375/st FOB, up slightly from last report, with the upper end reflecting new dealer reference pricing out of some Iowa warehouse locations.
Northern Plains: Granular urea was $365-$370/st FOB the Twin Cities, with reference pricing at the $380/st FOB mark in North Dakota. On a delivered basis, North Dakota sources pegged the urea market at $385/st last week. Effective Aug. 27, Agrium’s urea postings moved to $380/st FOB Shakopee, Minn., and North Dakota terminals at Alton, Carrington, Colfax, Marion, and Scranton. The company’s rail-DEL price in Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Wisconsin moved on that date to $385/st.
Northeast: The granular urea market was quoted at $365-$370/st FOB Baltimore early in the week, but some sources said the dealer market had firmed to $380/st FOB reference levels as the week progressed. The Philadelphia urea market was also quoted in the mid-$360s/st FOB early last week, but sources reported minimal inventories there. Urea pricing FOB Savannah, Ga., remained at the $360/st level. On a delivered basis, one Pennsylvania dealer tagged the urea market at $390/st last week.
Eastern Canada: Sources quoted the granular urea market at $455-$479/mt FOB, up slightly from last report, with the upper end reflecting dealer reference levels at some Ontario locations.
India: It appears that by week’s end, IPL nailed down at least 150,000 mt at $335/mt CFR.
Sources say Ameropa, ConAgra, and Transammonia each sold a cargo under what is now being described as pre-tender deals. Reportedly, the tons are all coming from China.
Asian sources confirm that at $335/mt CFR others might also get involved.
At that rate, $315/mt FOB from the Middle East is possible, as are tons from Bangladesh. The only loser would be Yuzhnyy.
All told, sources say Indian buyers need to secure 1.5 million mt by the end of the year. Buyers have been disappointed to see the price move up so quickly. Traders in Asia said IPL and MMTC should not have been surprised to see the price increases that have taken place in the past four weeks.
Observers expect to see IPL call its tender either by the end of last week (Friday, Sept. 14) or by some time during the TFI conference in Boston this week. One trader expected to see the IPL and MMTC representatives working hard to glean as much information as possible from the TFI participants. At the same time, those left home will be expected to keep in touch with producers to follow pricing trends.
A tender is necessary to ratify the deals already concluded.
Earlier, sources estimated IPL and MMTC would work out a series of at least three final tenders for 2007. Each tender would take about 500,000 mt. If the prices were favorable, more would be taken in the early tenders.
Middle East: Rumors that IPL/India has concluded at least three cargoes out of China at $335/mt CFR lifted the spirits of producers. Some were so elated, report sources, that instead of looking to settle deals at $315/mt FOB right away, some producers argued the new price should be $320/mt FOB.
The mantra out of the region seems to be that producers are saying “if” they had a cargo, they would sell it at $320/mt FOB. By and large, the whole region is unanimous in its position that spot cargoes are out of the question for the rest of the month. The October orders, however, are reportedly thin.
Asian sources said that at $315/mt FOB the producers would be ahead of previously done business and could still match the pre-tender deals IPL made with at least three trading houses.
One trader noted that with $20/mt freight and IPL setting $335/mt CFR as their target price, anything more than $315/mt FOB out of the Middle East will most likely be rejected.
The only main bit of business firmly on the books is the granular urea to be sent to the U.S. under long-term contracts. And while that will help keep the granular market from downward price pressures, it does nothing for the prill market.
As a price buyer, India will accept whatever product is available, whether it is prilled or granular. But it will only do so if the price is right.
China: The three cargoes reportedly concluded with IPL/India are slated to come from China.
The estimated netback on the deals is $275/mt FOB.
Sources peg the Chinese market at $275-$280/mt FOB for prills. Granular material is no longer being offered to the international market.
Lifting of tons from China is on hold until Oct. 1, when the export duty drops from 30 percent to 15 percent.
In addition to the Indian business, at least three cargoes for Peru, Mexico, and Brazil are said to be committed for October shipping.
Once October begins, sources say vessels will be anxious to load up and get out of port as quickly as possible. They may have to wait, however. Besides the delays that normally occur when many vessels vie for limited berthing facilities, the first week of October is usually deemed a “Golden Week” by the central government. That means the plants and ports are shut down to allow more people opportunities to celebrate the holiday. Oct. 1 is the national day in China.
Sources say the domestic stockpiles are sufficiently high, and once the initial rush of vessels is past, China will continue to ship its urea offshore.
Black Sea: The price has moved up on demand from Europe.
Demand from Latin America is also responsible for some of the price increase, but sources say it is unlikely that Yuzhnyy material will find its way to South America unless the price ends up closer to $300/mt FOB.
Some cargoes booked earlier this month might fit that pricing prescription. The current price wishes of the producers, however, are much higher than the buyers are willing to pay at this time.
Likewise, unless producers agree to drop their prices by as much as $40/mt, they will be left out of any upcoming Indian business.
Producers are now saying they should be paid $320/mt FOB. Nothing at that level was reported last week, but one source did say that $318/mt FOB was done late last week.
Vietnam: Industry sources estimate about 650,000 mt was imported from China along the border. Sources say that amount, along with domestic production, gives the country sufficient stockpiles for the upcoming season.
The government figures imports were closer to 370,000 mt.
The difference between the two is written off by area observers as differences in reporting exactly how many tons really were sent across the border to Vietnam.
According to Vietnamese media reports, the government is concerned about lower than hoped for reserves and rising international urea prices.
Indonesia: Now that prices are edging up, sources report buyers of previous Indonesian tenders are moving quickly to lift the tons they won in the past couple of months.
For a while, the cargoes sat in storage waiting to be picked up or were re-offered for sale. Now that the Mideast, China, and Yuzhnyy prices are on their way up and IPL/India is looking to buy, arrangements are being made to get the urea away from the plant and into the hands of international traders.
Sources say the previous efforts to limit exports appear to have been pushed aside in favor of the hard currency earned by off shore sales.
The state-owned companies must pay for their natural gas inputs in U.S. dollars. Domestic sales do not earn the hard currency necessary to cover those bills.
Pusri is expected to call a tender this week.
Soon after that, Kaltim will most likely come into the market as well.
Bangladesh: BCIC has issued a tender to import 50,000 mt of granular urea and 50,000 mt of prilled urea in bags in a maximum of four lots on a CFR Chittagong or Mongla Port basis under cash foreign exchange. The minimum offer quantity is 12,500 mt for each. Offers shall be received up to Oct. 24 and will be valid up to Nov. 24.
NITROGEN SOLUTIONS
U.S. Gulf: UAN barges were reported to be hard to find. Most were putting them within the $270-$275/st FOB ($8.44-$8.59/unit) range. Generally, price ideas were up. Sources pointed to the paper market, where they were reported to be trading at $280/st plus on a forward basis.
July imports were up 29 percent to 165,861 st, up from the year-ago 128,357 st.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN remained at roughly $9.30-$9.60/unit FOB regional terminals, with the lower numbers out of spot river locations. On a forward contract basis, reference prices for UAN-32 from one supplier ranged from $9.56-$9.86/unit FOB in the region for October through January, 2008.
Western Cornbelt: UAN-32 was steady at $295-$310/st ($9.22-$9.69/unit) FOB regional terminals, with the upper end reflecting dealer reference prices out of some locations. One Iowa source pegged the common dealer price last week at the $9.40/unit FOB mark, but reported no new sales to test that level.
Northern Plains: UAN-32, if and where available, was pegged at roughly $305-$312/st ($9.53-$9.75/unit) FOB regional terminals, with delivered UAN-28 quoted firmly at the $275/st ($9.82/unit) mark in North Dakota. One regional supplier was referencing forward contract UAN-32 for October through January at the $317/st ($9.91/unit) mark FOB Pine Bend, Minn.
Northeast: The UAN-30 market was up slightly from last report. Pricing FOB Baltimore was pegged at $253-$257/st ($8.43-$8.57/unit) last week, while the dealer market FOB Seaford, Del., was tagged firmly at the $258/st ($8.60/unit) level through the month of September.
Dealer reference pricing for UAN-32 out of terminals in upstate New York was quoted at the $310/st ($9.69/unit) FOB level before discounts, also up from last report. UAN-32 vessel replacement values were reportedly being indicated at the $300/mt mark C&F for new business. Sources said terminal pricing still has a long way to go to catch up to the vessel market.
Eastern Canada: UAN was pegged in the $11.25-$11.65/unit FOB range, with reference levels for UAN-28 reported as high as $330/mt ($11.79/unit) FOB in the region.
AMMONIUM NITRATE
U.S. Gulf: Like UAN, AN barges were reported to be firm-to-strong – assuming you could find a barge. The most recent business was called $272-$275/st FOB, with sellers quoting $280/st FOB.
Imports were up 59 percent in July to 67,542 st, up from the year-ago 42,532 st.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate remained at a nominal $320-$325/st FOB in the region, where available.
Eastern Canada: Ammonium nitrate was quoted at $365-$375/mt FOB in the region last week.
AMMONIUM SULFATE
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was steady at $220-$240/st FOB.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was tagged at $220-$230/st FOB last week.
Northern Plains: Granular ammonium sulfate continued to be quoted at $210/st FOB and $210-$215/st DEL in the region, but a near-term increase was slated to firm the market to $220/st FOB and $225/st DEL. Agrium’s ammonium sulfate postings will move up on Sept. 22 to $225/st rail-DEL in Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, and Nebraska.
Northeast: Granular ammonium sulfate was reported at $220-$225/st FOB in the region, with the low at Philadelphia and the upper end FOB Caledonia, N.Y., and E. Liverpool, Ohio. On a delivered basis, sources pegged the regional market at $230-$250/st, depending on location.
Eastern Canada: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $295/mt FOB or rail-DEL in Ontario and Quebec.
U.S.: Imports were up 125 percent in July, to 24,042 st from the year-ago 10,696 st.
PHOSPHATE
Central Florida: Although some phosphates are being sold on a prompt basis out of Central Florida, the vast majority of the shipments currently being loaded were booked months ago.
New orders have been slow coming, and sources said it was because most dealers had filled their bins in early summer and were waiting for the space to empty before reordering.
Houston has had the wettest year since the 1940s, and that has caused a problem for Agrifos’ gypstack – and Hurricane Humberto late last week did not help the situation. The company was working with state and federal agencies to resolve the problem, and was discharging treated water and looking into other options. However, the situation will probably not affect phosphate production, because production consumes water.
Last week, the Central Florida DAP price range remained a flat $385/st FOB. CF and Mosaic had both set prices at $385/st FOB. Mosaic’s asking price was $381/st FOB for MAP, while CF was listing a price of $385/st FOB. PotashCorp’s Central Florida reference price remained at $385/st FOB. In Texas, Agrifos raised its truck price to $430/st FOB, and $410/st FOB for railcars, but was sold out through the end of September for rail-delivered phosphates.
In the meantime, concerns persist that a short supply of sulfur could eventually crimp phosphate production (see Sulfur section).
U.S. Gulf: Normally, sales on the Arkansas River are in full swing at this time of year, but the harvesting of the devastated wheat crop delayed the planting of corn, which was just beginning to be harvested last week. As a result, terminals there were well stocked and in no need of resupply. However, in the northern cornbelt areas served by the Ohio River, business was just beginning to pick up last week, and some barge sales for resupply were made.
The Army Corps of Engineer still had not issued a report on the progress of dredging north of Lock 17 at Muskogee last week, but barge traffic, which has been moving single file through a narrow channel, was not backing up. The season there has not taken off yet, and dealers were in the dark about what farmers will be doing. Farmers will be faced with paying much higher prices for fertilizers this season compared to last season and last year, and it was not known whether they would use as much fertilizer to take advantage of significantly higher grain prices. A reduction in fertilizer applications would reduce crop yields.
MAP was in short supply in the Gulf market and was actually bringing a higher price than DAP, which was the inverse of the norm.
Although warehouse sales were below normal for this time of year, traders and dealers pointed out that they still have until around the first of November to continue moving product. If supplies begin running low and producer inventories are low at that time, some buyers may make a move to ensure they have their bins full when spring rolls around. The ongoing sulfur shortage, which continued to worsen last week, could result in a reduction of inventories if phosphate production is curtailed.
The number of barge sales was up slightly last week compared to the previous week, but prices remained soft. One source reported purchasing a barge for delivery in November at $398/st FOB. A large number of sources said they had offers at $395-$396/st FOB, and one said offers were made sub-$395/st FOB; however, none of those actually made purchases.
The NOLA DAP barge price range last week changed from $398-$405/st FOB the previous week to $397-$400/st FOB. Prices will likely move back into the $400/st FOB range within the next couple of weeks, when resupply begins.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP remained at $430-$438/st FOB in the region, with most dealer quotes reported at the $435/st mark FOB river terminals, give or take. MAP was steady at $430-$435/st FOB, and 10-34-0 was pegged at $350-$360/st FOB.
Western Cornbelt: DAP and MAP were unchanged at $430-$435/st range FOB regional warehouses to the dealer. 10-34-0 pricing was firm at $350-$365/st FOB.
Northern Plains: DAP was pegged at $435-$441/st FOB regional warehouses, while MAP was quoted in the $435-$438/st FOB range. North Dakota sources tagged the MAP market at $445-$455/st DEL, depending on supplier and point of origin. 10-34-0 was up from last report at $365-$375/st FOB in the region.
Agrium’s phosphoric acid prices for Minnesota and the Dakotas firmed on Sept. 1 to $690/st rail-DEL for merchant grade acid (MGA) and $700/st rail-DEL for super phosphoric acid (SPA). Postings for both products will increase by $15/st in October, followed by additional $10/st increases in November and again in December.
Northeast: Phosphate pricing was up from last report. Sources tagged the DAP market at $446-$450/st FOB, with the upper end quoted in New York. MAP was also quoted in the $446-$450/st FOB range, with the low FOB Philadelphia. Delivered MAP was pegged as high as $457/st to points in southern Pennsylvania last week. 10-34-0 pricing had firmed to $330/st FOB tank locations in upstate New York.
Eastern Canada: Sources said they expect good fall movement of phosphates and potash on winter wheat ground. MAP was pegged at $550-$560/mt FOB in the region. TSP was quoted at a nominal $545/mt FOB. No current prices were reported for DAP in the Eastern Canada region.
U.S. Export: Both PhosChem and Transammonia made phosphate sales last week into Latin America. PhosChem sold 15,000 mt of MAP to Brazil at $440/mt FOB, which was higher than the current price range for DAP. A shortage of MAP was said to be pushing up the price. Transammonia sold 11,000 mt of DAP produced by Mississippi Phosphate into Mexico at a price that was within the price range of DAP, $430-$433/mt FOB.
The world market for phosphates tapered off last week, as buyers have already placed massive orders and producers were running low on inventories.
The U.S. DOC reported phosphate exports declined in July of 2007 compared to the same period last year. DAP exports fell 30 percent, from 578,430 st to 403,182 st this July. MAP exports dropped 49 percent, to 137,496 st from 271,797 st in July 2006.
The price range for export DAP remained unchanged last week at $430-$433/st FOB.
Bangladesh: BCIC has issued a tender to import 30,000 mt of phosphate rock (65.5 percent BPL Min.) on C&F Chittagong on a liner terms basis under a cash foreign exchange. Offers shall be received up to Oct. 18 and should be valid up to Nov. 18.
POTASH
Eastern Cornbelt: Potash was quoted at $260-$270/st FOB regional warehouses, depending on grade and location, with inventories described as very tight.
Western Cornbelt: Potash pricing continued to firm on very tight and strictly allocated inventories. Sources tagged the market last week in the $267-$275/st FOB range, with the upper end reflecting reference levels and confirmed sales for granular tons out of Iowa warehouses.
Northern Plains: Price quotes for potash continued to firm, sources said. New sales FOB the mine were strictly allocated and reportedly based on October pricing levels. Sources tagged the market FOB Saskatchewan mines at $222/st for standard, $227/st for soluble and granular, and $232/st for white granular, up $20/st from early summer fill levels. Out of regional warehouses, potash was quoted at $260-$270/st FOB, depending on grade and location.
Northeast: Coarse potash was reported at $257/st FOB E. Liverpool last week. Delivered potash in Delaware was reportedly moving to the $264/st level on the low end. At the upper end of the range, dealer pricing for red granular potash was referenced at the $275/st mark FOB Caledonia, N.Y., while postings for delivered soluble potash had reportedly firmed to as high as $306/st DEL to some locations in the region.
Eastern Canada: Potash pricing was up from last report. Out of regional warehouses, the market was quoted at $321-$328/mt FOB. Effective Oct. 1, postings will move to $333/mt FOB the warehouse and $288/st FOB New Brunswick mines, with the mine price reflecting a $15/mt increase from previous levels.
Ontario sources pegged the sulfate of potash price last week at $510/mt FOB, also up from last report.
U.S.: U.S. imports for potassium muriate were up 28 percent for July, to 689,911 st, up from the year-ago 537,304 st.
SULFUR
Tampa: Humberto, the hurricane of the week, formed quickly in the Gulf near the coast of Texas last week and immediately began causing problems for some refineries in its path. It grew from a low-pressure system to hurricane status in just 14 hours. Valero’s Port Arthur plant lost all power last Thursday and shut down. In addition, that company’s refinery at St. Charles was making preparations for the storm the same day. The Motiva facility at Port Arthur was also said to have been shut down by Humberto; ExxonMobil’s plant there was still operating on Thursday, but was experiencing flooding. At Beaumont, a belt on the ship loader at Martin’s prill facility was damaged by the storm and was temporarily out of service. At press time, the storm was still moving inland, and other refineries could be affected.
One source described recent events as the “perfect storm” for the phosphate industry in Florida. With sulfur supplies critically low, Mosaic’s Sulfur Enterprise was in dry dock, Mexico’s Pemex missed delivering a vessel to Tampa as a result of Hurricane Felix, terrorists blew up some Pemex natural gas supply pipelines that provide sulfur in Mexico, and Humberto forced the sulfur vessel Margaret Sue to divert to avoid the storm and was to be delayed at least a day. The industry was waiting to determine how other refineries along the Gulf Coast fared. “Just-in-time” sulfur deliveries were the order of the day at Tampa. How that situation will affect phosphate production in Central Florida was unclear last week. Supplies of sulfuric acid were as tight or tighter than molten sulfur.
Discussions for fourth-quarter sulfur prices will likely begin at the TFI World Conference at Boston this week, but it appeared unlikely contracts will be resolved then. “No one wants to take the lead,” a source said, “because they are afraid they will be seen as either greedy or stupid.” There appeared no doubt prices will get a bump up, but nobody was able to say how much, or even if it will be single or double digits.
At Beaumont, a sulfur vessel was loaded with 31,500 tons of prill for Brazil early last week, and a second load of 30,000 tons was scheduled to be loaded later this month for Morocco. Another vessel will most likely depart Beaumont in October, but that will pretty well clean out inventories there.
West Coast: The sulfur industry was “licking its chops” last week after Fertinal, which was in the process of bringing its phosphate processing plant at Baja California back into operation after being shut down for several years, signed a contract to buy sulfur from California at a high price. Spot prices on the West Coast have increased to as much as $120/t, and demand was high.
However, some suppliers on the West Coast have pretty well lost their agricultural customers to the surging prices. One source said his company had loaded only a single truck this quarter.
Vancouver: Negotiations for new semester contract prices for Brazil were still officially underway, but will probably not be settled anytime soon. Canadian producers would rather wait and see how high the market will go before they have to settle.
U.S. Imports: Imports were off 26 percent in July, down to 120,206 st from the year-ago 163,471 st.
MARKET NOTES
Pakistan: The country produced 6.050 million mt of urea, DAP, and other fertilizers during the last financial year 2006-07 (July-June), compared to 6.260 million mt a year ago, showing a drop of 3.54 percent. According to a report of Pakistan’s National Fertilizer Development Centre (NFDC), during the period the country produced 4.731 million mt of urea and 1.318 million mt of DAP and other phosphatic fertilizers (the net DAP production was 397,747 mt).
Bangladesh: The government plans to set up two new urea manufacturing factories, each having capacity of 560,000 mt, to meet growing demand. One of the proposed factories – North-West Fertilizer Factory Ltd. – would be set up in Sirajganj on the northwestern side under the financing of China, while the other – Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory Ltd. – will be set up to replace the Natural Gas Fertilizer Factory (NGFF) Ltd. in Fenchuganj, on the northeastern side of the country, with possible financial assistance from the Czech Republic.
The Bangladesh Monitoring Committee on Fertilizer has set an import target of 1.1 million mt of urea for the current fiscal year to meet its growing demand and tide over a possible shortfall in domestic production. Local media pointed out that the urea production target is unlikely to be achieved this fiscal year due to the closure of the Ghorashal Fertilizer Factory. The country’s total urea output may decline by 0.2 million mt to 1.17 million mt, while the demand for the item has been projected at 2.8 million mt in fiscal 2007-08. In the last fiscal year, the government imported about 0.82 million mt of urea against the target of 0.9 million mt.