AMMONIA
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: The market remained quiet, with Tampa settled at $267/mt DEL.
Eastern Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market was tagged at $400-$425/st FOB, with the low out of spot Illinois River locations and the upper numbers in Indiana.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonia was quoted at $340-$375/st FOB regional terminals, with the low in Nebraska on a spot basis and the upper end to the dealer FOB Iowa terminals. Iowa sources also reported a lot of dealer-to-dealer trades taking place at the $370/st level in early May.
California: Anhydrous ammonia pricing was steady at $495-$540/st DEL in the state, with the low for trucked tons and the high for rail. Aqua ammonia remained at posted levels of $135/st FOB in California.
Pacific Northwest: The anhydrous ammonia market had reportedly dropped to $385-$415/st DEL in the Pacific Northwest region, with the low for railed tons and the upper end reflecting the truck market.
Western Canada: The ammonia market was quoted at $871-$916/mt DEL in Western Canada, up slightly from last report.
Black Sea: Asian sources report a sale out of Yuzhnyy from OPZ for $225/mt FOB. At the same time, Nitrochem reportedly is cutting back on production and asking $230/mt FOB for its product.
The purchase and new offering level is leading sources to peg the market at $220-$230/mt FOB. Others say, however, that that level is a fluke.
Reportedly, the OPZ deal was for a small cargo that had to be topped off elsewhere. Sources say Nitrochem is moving up its pricing idea based on the rule that if supply is limited, the price should go up.
Supplies from the Black Sea have been limited; production has been limited or cut off completely because the netback price is well below production costs for most companies. Even the latest business in Tampa indicates a Yuzhnyy equivalent closer to $200/mt FOB than the current pricing ideas.
One Asian trader said nailing down the actual market price has to depend on actual business done. He stressed that the $230/mt FOB offers are going unanswered by buyers. With that in mind, he said a range of $210-$225/mt FOB is about the best anyone can come up with at this point.
Middle East: The market went quiet last week. Sources say producers continue to claim the minimum price for their product is $300/mt FOB. Business done in late April appeared to push the price into the low $300s/mt FOB, but traders and end users now say the price is on the slide again.
With no business to confirm any softening of area prices, Asian sources are more comfortable calling the market steady and even at $295-$305/mt FOB.
UREA
U.S. Gulf: The market last week was dead-to-lower, depending on the source. Citing wet weather, some players said they have done no new business in weeks. Others cited buyers hammering the market hard and pointed to forward product for June being offered at $230/st FOB. They said this was putting pressure on prompt tons. As a result, sources were putting the last done business at $240-$245/st FOB, with buyers eyeing $230-$238/st FOB for the next round of trading.
Eastern Cornbelt: The combination of wet weather-related fieldwork delays and usage cutbacks was putting additional pressure on spot fertilizer pricing last week. The granular urea market was tagged at $290-$310/st FOB in the region, down from last report, with the low confirmed out of spot Ohio and Illinois River locations.
Western Cornbelt: Urea pricing to the dealer was falling in the region as NOLA barge values slipped. Sources quoted spot pricing in a broad range at $275-$305/st FOB regional terminals, with dealer postings from some suppliers holding at the $320/st FOB mark. In Minnesota, the Twin Cities market was pegged at $280-$290/st FOB last week, also reflecting a sizable drop from last report, while the Enid/Inola market in Oklahoma was reported at the $275-$280/st FOB level to the dealer. “It seems like there are guys just dropping prices like crazy,” said one source at midweek.
California: Granular urea was reported at $390-$425/st FOB, with reference prices still holding as high as $450/st FOB in the state. The truck market was said to be adjusting to lower-priced railed tons, which were reportedly coming into the state from Midwest suppliers for as low as $360-$370/st DEL in early May.
Pacific Northwest: Granular urea pricing was sliding, with sources quoting the market at $335/st DEL in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and as low as $315-$320/st DEL in Montana. Dealer postings from some regional suppliers remained as high as $380/st DEL in the region, however.
Western Canada: Granular urea was steady at $575-$600/mt DEL in Western Canada.
India: Even with a 260,000 mt tender from Pakistan looming for closure May 9, the industry has shifted its focus to reports that Indian buyers were traveling around China talking to producers and trading houses.
Rumors are reaching a fever pitch that just as the IFA meeting opens in Shanghai, an Indian buyer will call a tender with a handful of pre-tender deals from China in hand. Some skeptics maintain the tender will be called as the IFA delegates start heading home. Either way, the conventional wisdom is that by the end of the month, India will be back in the global market.
Fueling speculation that buying will get started soon are reports that once the Indian buying agents return home, Chinese producers and trading houses will be visiting India.
Sources say the Indian buyers are currently floating a price of $270-$275/mt CNF. For this price to work from China, the price will have to drop $40-$50/mt. The estimated netback to Yuzhnyy is $230/mt FOB, about $15 higher than the current market.
And traders didn’t even want to talk about how low the Middle East would have to go to meet the Indian pricing idea.
Sources say the Indian buyers made their presence in China known to shake up suppliers.
The Middle East producers have long seen India as a sure bet for large-scale sales. Even when the producers were iced out of tender awards, they would bounce back quickly with price adjustments to ensure large-scale sales to India.
Sources expected to see Indian buying interests pick up as the IFA meeting approached. Besides having the opportunity to meet with just about every trader and producer in the industry, the Indians will have their country’s national elections behind them. Sources say the conclusion of the election will ease some of the pressure on the buying houses.
Pakistan: Sources are now saying TCP will either scrap or postpone the tender slated to close May 9. They say the need for urea is necessary, but not vital. Sources estimate the urea needs in the upcoming application season can be initially met with what is currently in stock. Additional tons will be needed later in the season.
A delay of one week will allow tons to be offered from China, thus increasing the competition for the business. The tender documents call for delivery within three weeks of being awarded a contract. If the May 9 date is kept, said one source, no Chinese tons could be competitive because the export duty will stay at 110 percent until July 1.
One source said TCP might also be looking for the traditional drop in prices following a major Indian tender. If the price does come off, TCP could see a savings of several dollars per ton.
Traders, producers, and TCP all face an uncertain market at this point. The upcoming Indian purchases could raise prices or lower them, depending on the aggressiveness of the players. Sources say producers are unlikely to back large offers at the current price if they think that large buying by India will drive up the price. Likewise, traders might be unwilling to take a bet on securing large quantities now that might be priced lower later.
One recurring idea is that some Middle East producers will low-ball their prices to grab the whole tender, and then stretch out the shipments. Once they secure the awards from Pakistan, sources say, the producers will be in a stronger position to argue for higher prices to other buyers.
Middle East: The results of the Bangladesh/BCIC tender showed producers were serious about moving the price closer to $300/mt FOB.
Sources estimated the netback for the prilled offers at $265-$270/mt FOB and for granular at $275-$280/mt FOB. Observers are quick to point out that these are just offers, and that as Green Markets went to press BCIC has not issued any awards.
The BCIC tender matches up with the Sri Lankan tender – that was scrapped – and put the estimated netback for prills in the upper $260s/mt FOB.
Observers wonder how the producers will react to the TCP tender that closes May 9. Some in the industry speculate that the Middle East producers will offer significantly lower prices to ensure they will capture the whole tender. Once the 260,000 mt are booked for Pakistan, the producers will argue they either are sold out or have limited quantities. They will then ask for significantly more than $270/mt FOB for prills and $280/mt FOB for granular.
One trader noted that with the Oman plant coming online, the producers will have little support for demanding a premium on granular.
Sources say the prices quoted in the TCP and Sri Lankan tenders are more along the lines of what producers want than where the market currently sits. Business in late April by Egypt at $250/mt FOB showed softness in the marketplace.
Most of the current business from the Arab Gulf is under long-term contracts at prices significantly lower than the upper $260s/mt FOB offered in the two most recent tenders.
Sources are hard-pressed to accept the netbacks from the BCIC and Sri Lankan tenders as the new set point in the market. Most are waiting for the TCP tender and then the subsequent Indian purchases.
Black Sea: Sources uniformly report the market has settled in the lower-$240s/mt FOB. However, Indian buying representatives in China are talking about a price of $270-$275/mt CFR. That has a netback of $230/mt FOB for a panamax vessel and $220/mt FOB for a handimax deal.
Producers are asking $245/mt FOB, but not getting any serious response. Sources say the producers may not be as firm in their pricing ideas as they would like to make out.
During previous bull markets, producers would not even continue a conversation unless a buyer made at least a token gesture to accept the base price. Now, say sources, producers are willing to talk to anyone who might actually be able to take a cargo away.
The continued reports of an imminent tender from India are putting supports under the producers’ arguments. Traders counter, however, that the Indian-Chinese discussions could lead to deals that shut out the Black Sea and the Arab Gulf unless the producers come up with prices more to the Indians’ liking.
China: Chinese urea producers and trading houses entertained Indian buyers last week. Reportedly, this week the Indians will play host to the Chinese.
The best guess for the sudden fraternal actions, say sources, is that Indian buyers are on the lookout to secure large quantities of Chinese urea in pre-tender deals. Another opinion is that the Indians are going through the motions of wooing the Chinese to scare the Middle East and Black Sea producers into lowering their prices.
In addition to rumors of a major Indian-Chinese urea deal, sources say there is talk of Beijing re-doing the export duty regime.
Many in the industry dismiss the rumors as just talk of a slow market. Others say the rumors could be a way for Beijing to test the waters before they take any action.
As the regime stands, exported urea will have a duty of 110 percent imposed until July 1. After that date, the duty will drop to 10 percent until the fall, when it will jump back up.
One of the arguments of extending the window for the lower rate is to encourage exports as a means to stimulate the Chinese economy. So far, the only ones promoting this view are those outside China.
A number of traders who watch the Chinese market closely say no changes to the duty regime are planned.
Sri Lanka: The tender for 24,000 mt that caused such a stir late last month has been scrapped. The offers made in the tender confirmed talk that the Black Sea had retreated into the $230s/mt FOB and that the Middle East producers were trying to move the price up. No reason was given by the Ministry of Agriculture for their action. Traders in the area said the main issue seems to be financing. One said the ministry might also be looking at the possibility of lower prices in the near future.
Details of the offers made follow.
| Supplier | Origin | Quantity | US$/mt CFR | Notes |
| Blue Deebaj | CIS | 12,000 | 309.00 | |
| 12,000 | 317.50 | 270 days | ||
| 324.50 | 360 days | |||
| Toepfer | Qatar | 2×12,000 | 322.81 | |
| Transammonia | Open | 24,000 | 323.00 | |
| 24,000 | 329.00 | 270 days | ||
| Ameropa | Middle East, CIS, China | 24,000 | 334.00 | |
| Midgulf | Middle East, CIS, China | 24,000 | 348.50 | |
| ETA | Middle East, CIS, China | 24,000 | 363.97 |
Bangladesh: BCIC closed a tender for 100,000 mt each of bagged granular and prilled urea early last week, but only awarded 25,000 mt to Agora at $296.92/mt CFR bagged.
The company called a new tender to cover the growing need for material. The tender will close June 8 and is for 125,000 mt each of prilled and granular material.
Offers in the most recent tender indicated producers were anxious to move up the prices in the Middle East and Black Sea.
Sources reported last week that BCIC was considering scrapping the tender. One Asian trader noted that BCIC has scrapped or dropped the ball on so many tenders in the past that it was almost forced to give at least a token award in the just-closed tender.
Major industry observers note that Agora is not a “traditional” international player. That does not mean, said one trader, that they do not have the tons necessary to fulfill their end of the deal. One trader noted the difficulties in deal completion in the past have usually come from BCIC in the issuance of awards or funds in a timely manner.
Details of the offers for prilled urea, totaling 337,000 mt, to be unloaded at the port of Chittagong, follow.
| Offering Company | Source | Quantity | US$/mt CFR |
| Agora | China | 25,000 | 296.92 |
| Bulktrade | Saudi Arabia | 25,000 | 313.65 |
| Desh | Open | 50,000 | 314.30 |
| Hydrocarbon | China, Open | 50,000 | 314.35 |
| Liven | China | 50,000 | 316.87 |
| Blue Deebaj | Ukraine | 25,000 | 317.50 |
| Wilson | China | 25,000 | 317.87 |
| Gavilon | China | 37,500 | 328.89 |
| Toepfer | Qatar | 37,000 | 332.25 |
| Ameropa | Ukraine | 12,500 | 349.43 |
Details of the offers for bagged granular urea totaling 250,000 mt, to be unloaded at the port of Mongla, follow.
| Offering Company | Source | Quantity | US$/mt CFR |
| Desh | Oman, Open | 50,000 | 323.22 |
| Bulktrade | Oman, Open | 12,500 | 323.35 |
| Hydrocarbon | Oman, Open | 50,000 | 323.47 |
| Liven | China, Malaysia | 25,000 | 323.87 |
| Gavilon | Egypt, China, Indo | 25,000 | 336.60 |
| Helm | Iran, China | 25,000 | 337.95 |
| Wilson | China, Egypt, Malaysia | 25,000 | 339.00 |
| Toepfer | Egypt, China | 25,000 | 365.75 |
| Ameropa | Egypt, China | 12,500 | 371.00 |
Sources pointed out the presence of Omani and Chinese material. The Oman urea is from the plant that just came online. Observers figure any award involving Chinese tons will not be shipped until after July 1, when the lower export duty kicks in.
Indonesia: PIM is expected to call a selling tender this month. Sources were expecting to hear something late last week about the tender, but PIM officials were quiet.
The selling tenders from PIM come at a time when the Indonesian government is looking to change its subsidy program for fertilizers.
Essentially, a government official told local media, the plan is to reduce subsidies to 20 percent of the market price and use the funds to improve agriculture infrastructure.
The government estimates it will save about 10 trillion rupiahs (US$960 million) in subsidy costs that could be plowed into irrigation and other projects to help smaller farmers. One of the plans includes building an organic fertilizer facility.
Oman: Oman’s Sohar International Urea and Chemical Industries (SIUCI) told Green Markets that it started trial production of granular urea from its Sohar fertilizer project May 1. It has a production capacity of over 1.2 million mt/y of granular urea. The facility was built on a lump-sum, turnkey basis by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Fertilizer Project Contracting and Construction Co LLC (MHIFPCC), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI), Japan.
NITROGEN SOLUTIONS
U.S. Gulf: Barge prices continue to be under pressure, according to sources, with sources “talking” $150-$160/st FOB to make a new trade a go.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-32 was tagged in a broad range at $224-$240/st ($7.00-$7.50/unit) FOB regional terminals. The dealer market FOB Cincinnati was reported at the $7.10/unit FOB level last week, while reference pricing for forward contract UAN-32 tons for June through August ranged from $232-$248/st ($7.25-$7.75/unit) FOB in the region, depending on location.
Western Cornbelt: UAN-32 was slipping in the region, with sources quoting the dealer market at $220-$240/st ($6.88-$7.50/unit) FOB regional terminals. One source reported the market in his location at the $7.25/unit FOB level with slight discounts, while another said $7.00/unit FOB was readily available in his trade area last week.
California: The UAN-32 market was quoted as low as $240-$250/st ($7.50-$7.81/unit) rail-DEL in the state, while reference prices were reported at $255/st ($7.97/unit) FOB and $277/st ($8.66/unit) truck-DEL. One source pegged the truck-DEL market at $270/st ($8.44/unit) after discounts, and said the truck market is adjusting weekly to the lower rail market. One source also reported rumors of $270/st ($8.44/unit) being offered as a retail price delivered to the field in some locations last week.
Pacific Northwest: Sources tagged the Pacific Northwest UAN-32 market at $245-$250/st ($7.66-$7.81/unit) DEL in early May, reflecting another drop from last report.
Western Canada: The UAN-28 market was pegged at $371-$387/mt ($13.25-$13.82/unit) DEL to the dealer, up slightly from last report. A British Columbia source quoted the market to his location last week at the $378/mt ($13.50/unit) DEL level.
AMMONIUM NITRATE
U.S. Gulf: Barges were reported to be steady in the $220-$225/st FOB range.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate was steady at $270/st FOB, with delivered nitrate quoted at the $280/st mark in eastern Nebraska.
California: No market was reported for ammonium nitrate in the state. CAN-17 was pegged at $255-$265/st FOB last week. The AN-20 market was reported at $200/st DEL in California.
Pacific Northwest: Ammonium nitrate was reported at $361-$396/st DEL in the region. CAN-17 pricing remained at $245-$250/st FOB and $260/st DEL.
AMMONIUM SULFATE
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $235-$245/st FOB in the region.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was steady at $225-$245/st FOB in the region, and in tight supply. American Plant Food Corp. adjusted its ammonium sulfate postings in Texas on May 8. Reference prices dropped $35/st, with granular postings moving on May 8 to $190/st FOB Freeport, $200/st FOB Galena Park, $215/st FOB Fort Worth, and $230/st FOB Littlefield; coarse moving to $180/st FOB Freeport, $190/st FOB Galena Park, $205/st FOB Fort Worth, and $220/st FOB Littlefield; standard moving to $170/st FOB Freeport and $210/st FOB Littlefield; and NPac Compacted moving to $205/st FOB Galena Park. APF’s granular ammonium sulfate posting FOB Mermenau, La., dropped on May 8 to $220/st.
California: Ammonium sulfate was tagged at $245-$290/st FOB, with the low for standard grade after discounts and the upper end for granular product in desert locations.
Pacific Northwest: The granular ammonium sulfate market was steady at $225-$230/st DEL in the region, with some sources describing inventories as short.
Western Canada: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $380-$385/mt DEL in the region.
PHOSPHATES
Central Florida: The eastern U.S. and areas of the Midwest served from Central Florida remained too wet to plant last week, and time was running out – at least for the corn crop, the mainstay of the phosphate industry.
A late season means less consumption, and this season has not really even started. Other factors have also played a role in the really bad season, the credit market among them. Those who were left with warehouses full of high-priced phosphate last year have had to charge more to farmers, who bought less, so application has been down – or would be, if fertilizers could be spread. Many in that position have also faced a credit shortage, and credit was tight in general. Even the high price of potash has been said to be a problem for phosphate. Regardless, it has all been a problem for the industry.
Last week, the phosphate industry settled their contracts for second quarter sulfur pricing at $5/lt, a bump of $5/lt. The reason was the likelihood of curtailments, which seemed inevitable due to the lack of phosphate sales for both the domestic markets and export. In the short term, that meant prices were getting softer, and not much in the way of relief will occur before the fall season. Last week, CF dropped its Central Florida price for rail and truck another $5/st FOB, to $295/st FOB. At current prices, an investment in DAP would pay dividends for planting corn, if that were possible.
When the season comes to an end, the goal will be to have empty bins. If the country ever dries, that will be a possibility.
The Central Florida DAP price range last week fell from $300-$315/st FOB to $295-$315/st FOB. PCS Sales had no published price. Mosaic’s price was $315/st FOB for DAP and $325/st FOB for MAP. CF dropped to $295/st FOB for DAP and $10/st FOB higher for MAP. The price from Agrifos remained at $350/st FOB for trucks and $340/st FOB for rail shipments.
U.S. Gulf: Several sources said last week that DAP barges were more plentiful upriver than at New Orleans, and the large differential between prices was rapidly shrinking. Time was the enemy. At the end of the first week in May the clock was ticking down on the time to plant corn, which takes massive doses of phosphate to be successful. If farmers cannot get into their fields to plant sometime between the third week of May and the end of the first week of June, it was likely many will opt to plant soybeans instead – and beans don’t require large amounts of phosphate. Prices on both were good last week, but that would begin to change with a large-scale shift in planting.
The USDA said about 85 million acres of corn will be planted, but that was subject to revision, and the ultimate amount could be as little as 81 million acres, say sources. The area ahead of the game was northern Iowa and southern Minnesota, which has had a chance to dry. Most of the Corn Belt was still too wet to plant late last week.
In Oklahoma, rain has been so frequent the Arkansas River was too high and running fast and was no longer available to barge traffic. Bins for phosphate and urea were running near empty, but – for better or worse – the season there was nearly at an end. The wheat crop in that state was taking a real beating due to the weather. Predictions were that only 77.5 million bushels would be produced, compared to 166 million last year, a situation even worse than it was two years ago, when it was considered the worst in memory.
CF lowered its warehouse prices for DAP last week to $330/st FOB, and terminals in nearby areas were expected to adjust prices as well, sometime soon. However, those in other locations were less likely to follow.
Offers last week tended to take a big fall early in the week, then rose slightly and dipped again, but no actual sales could be confirmed. However, almost all offers were below the current range.
The NOLA DAP barge range last week remained unchanged at $268-$300/st FOB. Both Mosaic and CF had a $10/st FOB additional charge for MAP.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP was reported at $335-$350/st FOB regional warehouses to the dealer, with MAP $10/st higher. One source pegged the Cincinnati DAP market last week at $335/st FOB for spot tons and $350/st FOB for forward contract pricing for June. 10-34-0 was steady at $625-$700/st FOB, with the low in Illinois and the upper end in Ohio.
Western Cornbelt: The DAP market was pegged at $330-$350/st FOB regional warehouses to the dealer, with MAP roughly $10/st higher. Iowa sources reported the DAP market in the $340-$350/st FOB range to the dealer last week. 10-34-0 remained at $575-$675/st FOB in the region.
California: MAP and DAP remained at $455-$460/st DEL or FOB warehouse locations in California. The 16-20-0 market was steady at $310-$320/st FOB, and 10-34-0 was unchanged at $477-$487/st FOB in California.
Phosphoric acid remained at $11.00/unit DEL for both super phosphoric acid (SPA) and merchant grade acid (MGA), with Simplot referencing MGA at $11.20/unit FOB California warehouses. Agrium’s May 1 phosphoric acid postings included $1,100/st rail-DEL for SPA and MGA in Arizona and California.
Pacific Northwest: MAP pricing remained at $445-$455/st FOB or DEL in the region, with DAP at $450-$460/st FOB or DEL. 16-20-0 was steady at $300-$305/st DEL, and 10-34-0 was pegged at $450-$470/st FOB in the region, down just slightly from last report.
Phosphoric acid was steady at $11.00/unit DEL in the region for both SPA and MGA. Agrium’s May 1 phosphoric acid postings included $1,100/st rail-DEL for SPA and MGA in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
Western Canada: MAP was unchanged at $665-$680/mt DEL in Western Canada, with reference levels as high as $790-$825/mt DEL to the dealer.
U.S. Export: No new export phosphate sales were found last week, but there may be some interest in the market from Latin America. The lack of recent sales, coupled with little activity in the domestic market, may mean phosphate production could be curtailed sometime soon.
With no new sales last week, the DAP export range was unchanged at $337-$339/mt FOB.
India: MMTC called a tender May 5 for 215,000 mt of DAP. The tender closes May 19. The tender documents call for May and June shipment.
POTASH
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources continued to quote the potash market at $630-$700/st FOB warehouses from brokers and resellers, with the low end reported by Illinois sources out of river locations. An Ohio dealer quoted reference pricing at the upper end of the range, but said he “wouldn’t want to offer $650 because I think I’d own it, and I’m trying to get to the back of the bin as it is.” He added that he expects potash volumes to be off 50 percent or more for his business this spring.
Western Cornbelt: The potash market was tagged at $610-$680/st FOB regional warehouses, with most dealer quotes reported in the $630-$650/st FOB range.
California: Sources said producers were holding firm on muriate of potash prices, with the California market steady at $845-$855/st FOB and roughly $850-$875/st DEL.
Sulfate of potash was steady as well at $1,015-$1,055/st FOB for bulk tons, with the low for standard grade and the high for water soluble.
Potassium nitrate pricing was unchanged at $1,310-$1,380/st FOB in the state, with the low for bulk and the upper end for bagged product.
Pacific Northwest: Sources confirmed delivered potash as low as $750-$775/st into the region from Utah, while Canadian producers were said to be holding the line in the mid-$800s/st DEL for 62 percent potash. One regional source said he thinks potash usage will be off some 30-50 percent this spring, and dealers will carry-over a fair amount of inventory.
Western Canada: Potash FOB Saskatchewan mines was reported at $960-$1,000/mt FOB, depending on grade and supplier.
SULFUR
Tampa: Late the previous week, Mosaic settled all of its major sulfur contracts for the second quarter up $5/lt, and early last week PotashCorp completed at the same hike. As a result, the indexed price for molten sulfur at Tampa rose to $5/lt.
The primary reason the sulfur industry took the offer was the widely-held belief that phosphate producers will begin to curtail production – and probably very soon. In the “Spring Season That Never Was,” dealers still had ample supplies of phosphate in their bins and farmers were still waiting for drier weather before hitting their fields. In addition, export sales were still somewhere between lackluster and nonexistent, so inventories will continue to build.
Meanwhile, China appeared to be taking less sulfur and that was the world’s last resort to disposing of the yellow material, so prices were either holding their own or sliding down a bit. Brazil was said to be changing from using six-month contracts to fill its needs to becoming a spot buyer.
Prill operations on the Gulf Coast were running hard last week, but not at full capacity. However, pressure will begin to build if phosphate companies do begin curtailment programs.
No transportation problems were found last week, and ample supplies of both rail and trucks were available.
West Coast: Negotiations for second quarter contract prices for the West Coast began last week, but no final agreements were reached.