PhosAgro, Moscow, reported a 2 percent year-over-year increase in fertilizer output, and a 3 percent increase in fertilizer sales volumes in the first quarter of this year.
Fertilizer production reached 2.61 million mt, up from the year-ago 2.56 million mt. The group attributed the increase to the upgrade of capacities, enabling an increase in NPK production. Fertilizer sales totaled 2.86 million mt, versus the previous year’s 2.79 million mt. PhosAgro cited both high seasonal demand and a large volume of carryover sales at the end of December 2020 as driving sales growth.
First-quarter sales volumes of all phosphate-based fertilizers and MCP were marginally lower (0.5 percent) from a year ago at 2.08 million mt, down from 2.09 million mt. DAP/MAP sales volumes were also off, at 877,400 mt versus the prior year’s 924,900 mt, with the fertilizer group citing a delay in the dispatch of several vessels at the end of March due to severe ice conditions.
PhosAgro did not supply any DAP or MAP to the U.S. to date this year, according to Russian media reports, citing the group. The trade halt follows the imposition by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) of countervailing duties (CVDs) on phosphate fertilizers imports from Russia (and Morocco). The CVDs followed a U.S. States International Trade Commission (USITC) investigation that found the U.S. phosphate industry is materially injured by reason of imports of phosphate fertilizers from the two countries. Preliminary duties were implemented late last year, and the DOC and the USITC issued their final decisions in February and March, respectively (GM Feb 12, p. 1; March 12, p. 1).
Based on the DOC’s final decision in February, the cash deposit rate for PhosAgro was 9.19 percent (GM March 12, p. 36).
The Russian fertilizer group this week highlighted sales of its premium brands of NPK (S) increased in the first quarter of the year in the European, Russian, and Latin American markets, where a strong recovery in seasonal demand was observed. The group’s total NPK sales were up 4 percent on the year, at 811,100 mt.
As a result, the share of NPK(S) brands in PhosAgro’s total first quarter sales increased to 49 percent, up from 47 percent a year earlier.
First-quarter nitrogen fertilizers sales rose 12 percent to 787,300 mt, up from the year-ago 702,800 mt. The group said the increase was across all products, and driven by high seasonal demand and end-user affordability.
Total fertilizer export sales increased 7 percent year-over-year, reaching 2.0 million mt, driven by a strong recovery in seasonal demand in Europe, Latin America, and North America. The group’s domestic fertilizer sales were some 900,000 mt, and on a par with the same year-ago quarter.
PhosAgro Fertilizer Production and Sales Volumes
| ‘000 mt | 1Q-2021 | 1Q-2020 | Percent change |
| Production | |||
| Phosphate-based fertilizers +MCP | 1,983.1 | 1,937.9 | +2 |
| Nitrogen-based fertilizers | 631.4 | 617.4 | +2 |
| Total fertilizers | 2,614.5 | 2,555.3 | +2 |
| Sales | |||
| Phosphate-based fertilizers +MCP | |||
| DAP/MAP | 877.4 | 924.9 | (5) |
| NPK | 811.1 | 781.6 | +4 |
| NPS | 208.7 | 199.4 | +5 |
| APP | 63.4 | 63.1 | +1 |
| MCP | 113.7 | 97.4 | +17 |
| PKS | 2.2 | 20.9 | (90) |
| Total | 2,076.5 | 2,087.3 | (1) |
| Nitrogen-based fertilizers | |||
| AN | 252.8 | 236.0 | +7 |
| Urea | 504.2 | 466.8 | +8 |
| AS | 30.3 | 0 | – |
| Total | 787.3 | 702.8 | +12 |
| Total Fertilizers | 2,863.8 | 2,790.1 | +3 |
PhosAgro’s board has recommended the payment of an increased dividend of RUB63 per (approximately 82 U.S. cents at current exchange rates) per ordinary share for FY2020, in addition to interim dividends already paid, to be approved at the group’s annual general meeting to be held next month.