Just days before the Oct. 5 closing of its urea tender, Indian trading company MMTC issued an update that bans offers from Iran and any other country facing economic sanctions.
The announcement was posted on the MMTC website. The update stated that offers of urea of “open origin” will not be considered, and offering companies must clearly state the origin of the urea in their offers. “[Offers of] material from countries of origin against which sanctions have been imposed/likely to be imposed, shall not be considered and price bids of such tenders shall not be opened,” the announcement said.
The move had an immediate impact on the Arab Gulf urea price. Oman reportedly sold a cargo to Keytrade at $340/mt FOB, a level which represents an almost $20/mt jump in price in just one week.
Arab Gulf urea is expected to play a dominant role in the MMTC tender. Industry sources said the MMTC action – and the subsequent price rise in the Arab Gulf – could draw out Chinese granular.
See the Oct. 5 issue of Green Markets for more analysis of the MMTC tender.