Avi Doitchman, Israel Chemical Ltd. (ICL) CFO and executive vice president, has announced his resignation. He has been with ICL for 20 years, serving as CFO for 15 years. ICL said a date has not been set for naming his replacement or for his exact date of departure.
Central Florida: Sources reported little activity during the holiday week, with DAP prices generally quoted a few dollars on either side of $430/st FOB. Mosaic’s posted DAP rates were $425/st FOB, with MAP listed $20/st FOB higher. Truck-loaded DAP was $435/st FOB.
Though warmer temperatures melted the previous week’s snowpack in several regions served by the Central Florida market, the moisture left fields muddy and impossible to harvest. Heat or cold was now needed, one market observer said, to either dry out the ground or freeze it so the harvest could conclude.
DAP prices on the Central Florida market were quoted in a range of $425-$435/st FOB, unmoved from the week before. The MAP premium was stable at $20/st FOB above DAP.
U.S. Gulf: Barge activity was minimal for the short week, and prices remained stable at $405-$415/st FOB. The bulk of nearby transactions came around $408-$410/st FOB, but buyers were showing renewed willingness to bid up to $415/st FOB.
The market experienced a “return of buying,” one source said, for the nearby market as well as December and first-quarter deliveries. December DAP was called $415/st FOB.
Demand for MAP was diminished compared to recent weeks, and traders pegged it at a $20-$25/st FOB premium over DAP.
Weather conditions continued to make many fields muddy and unworkable. “I don’t think there’s going to be much getting done this week,” said one source. USDA agreed, describing field conditions as “treacherous or impassable” in some areas.
Some market contacts speculated that the fall season was over in the northern states. Farmers would continue to clear fields wherever possible, said one source, though “much remaining fall tillage will be left unfinished.”
Faced with rising freight rates and steep competition for storage, some farmers had reportedly delayed harvesting their fields prior to the recent precipitation, allowing the corn extra time to dry on the stalks, one source said. The strategy carried the risk of fields succumbing to adverse weather conditions prior to picking, a reality some are currently realizing.
Some looked to the positives of the situation, namely that an early winter would likely lead to a reduced overall crop. Fewer bushels harvested would likely push up futures prices, one source reasoned, potentially lessening some end-user reluctance toward large late-season fertilizer purchases.
Prices on the NOLA barge market were quoted in a range of $405-$415/st FOB, unchanged from the previous week. MAP was called $430-$435/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP remained at $460-$475/st FOB regional warehouses in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location, with MAP quoted in the $480-$495/st FOB range. The low numbers in both ranges were quoted FOB Cincinnati.
10-34-0 was unchanged at $520/st FOB for limited tons in the region.
Western Cornbelt: DAP was tagged at $455-$465/st FOB most terminals in the Western Cornbelt, with the lower numbers reported in the Missouri market on spot basis. MAP was quoted at $485-$490/st FOB in the region.
10-34-0 was steady at $515-$520/st FOB in the region for any available tons.
Southern Plains: The Tulsa DAP market was pegged at $450-$460/st FOB, with MAP reported in the $475-$480/st FOB range at the port. Most sources quoted the lower end of both ranges as the more common trading level last week.
Sources quoted the Houston market at $465/st FOB for DAP and $485/st FOB for MAP.
10-34-0 was reported at $510-$520/st FOB for any available tons in the Southern Plains, with the low FOB Altus, Okla.
South Central: DAP pricing was quoted at $460-$470/st FOB terminals in the Sout
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $290-$300/st FOB and $295-$305/st rail-DEL in the Eastern Cornbelt, but higher postings were taking effect from some suppliers.
Interoceanic Corp. on Nov. 24 announced an immediate price increase for granular ammonium sulfate manufactured by Rentech Nitrogen, with postings for both prompt and spring (second quarter) prepay moving to $320/st FOB Midwest terminals and $330/st rail-DEL to Midwest destinations. Those levels reflects a $20/st increase from the company’s Sept. 11 postings.
Ammonium thiosulfate was quoted at $310-$330/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was steady at $280-$300/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with upper end reported in the Iowa market. Missouri sources quoted the common dealer market last week at $280-$285/st FOB.
The ammonium thiosulfate market remained at $300-$315/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt.
Southern Plains: The granular ammonium sulfate market was unchanged at $240-$275/st FOB Texas shipping points, depending on location, with the low FOB Freeport. Coarse grade ammonium sulfate was $10/st less than granular, with standard posted at a $20/st deficit to granular.
Ammonium thiosulfate pricing had reportedly slipped to $275-$295/st FOB in the Southern Plains.
South Central: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $265-$280/st FOB in the South Central region, with the low reported in Louisiana and the upper end quoted in Tennessee and Arkansas.
Ammonium thiosulfate was pegged at $310-$315/st FOB in the region, with the low in Memphis.
Southeast: The granular ammonium sulfate market was tagged at $265/st FOB Hopewell, Va., and Augusta, Ga., for new orders, with delivered tons referenced at $270/st in the Carolinas, $280/st in Georgia, and $285/st in Florida.
Standard grade ammonium sulfate was referenced at $210/st rail-DEL in Florida. Sources said fall demand in Florida on pasture ground has been heavy due to well-timed rains and higher cattle prices.
Pacific Northwest: Agrium Inc. announced new granular ammonium sulfate postings, effective Nov. 24. The new prices include $343/st FOB warehouses and $348/st DEL in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. New delivered postings in Montana and Wyoming also moved to the $348/st level on that date.
The new levels reflect a $25/st increase from Agrium’s July 1, 2014, postings in the region.
| Producer | Symbol | Price | Week Ago | Year Ago |
| Agrium | AGU | 98.84 | 101.46 | 89.12 |
| CF Industries | CF | 272.56 | 273.07 | 213.64 |
| CVR Partners | UAN | 10.99 | 11.50 | 17.59 |
| Intrepid Potash | IPI | 14.56 | 15.28 | 15.99 |
| Mosaic | MOS | 45.53 | 47.23 | 47.16 |
| PotashCorp | POT | 34.52 | 36.45 | 31.01 |
| Rentech Nitrogen | RNF | 11.38 | 11.92 | 20.42 |
| Terra Nitrogen | TNH | 127.54 | 127.89 | 159.07 |
| Distribution/Retail | ||||
| Andersons Inc. | ANDE | 55.96 | 57.01 | 82.80 |
| Deere & Co. | DE | 87.79 | 85.37 | 84.68 |
| Scotts | SMG | 60.40 | 60.40 | 59.06 |
U.S. Gulf: The NOLA barge market continued at $305/st FOB. Yara is expected to bring in a vessel to NOLA in the near term, and Dreymoor in February.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate had reportedly slipped to $345-$355/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low end of the range reported in Missouri on a spot basis.
Southern Plains: The Tulsa ammonium nitrate market remained at $350/st FOB.
South Central: The ammonium nitrate price range had narrowed from last report, with sources quoting the dealer market at $345-$355/st FOB terminals in the South Central region.
Southeast: The Tampa ammonium nitrate market was pegged at $370-$375/st FOB.
U.S. Gulf: UAN barge prices appear to be moving up, with new trades last week reported at $240-$248/st ($7.50-$7.75/unit) FOB. Sources attributed the uptick to a weak fall ammonia season in the Cornbelt, with more buyers now believing they will need to purchase UAN next spring.
Prices being quoted for forward sales were higher at $255-$260/st FOB, and inland postings were reported to be moving up.
Eastern Cornbelt: There was some talk of firming UAN prices last week due to the lackluster fall ammonia season.
UAN-28 was tagged at $250-$255/st ($8.93-$9.11/unit) FOB Cincinnati for prompt pull, depending on supplier, with spring prepay offers there reported at $260-$262/st ($9.29-$9.36/unit) FOB. One source quoted UAN-32 prompt tons at the $287/st ($8.97/unit) FOB Cincinnati level last week.
Rail-DEL UAN-32 was pegged at $298-$310/st ($9.31-$9.69/unit) in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, with the upper end of the range more commonly quoted in the Michigan market. CF had reportedly raised its Midwest UAN-32 postings to $299-$304/st ($9.34-$9.50/unit) FOB river terminals and $305-$308/st ($9.53-$9.63/unit) FOB inland, depending on location.
Western Cornbelt: The UAN-32 market was unchanged at $280-$295/st ($8.75-$9.22/unit) FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location. One Missouri contact quoted the common dealer market at the $290/st ($9.06/unit) FOB level in his location last week.
Southern Plains: UAN-32 pricing in the Southern Plains was reported at $270-$275/st ($8.44-$8.59/unit) FOB regional production points and Gulf Coast terminals.
South Central: Sources reported fielding some UAN inquiries in recent weeks, with the renewed interest reportedly fueled by a lackluster fall ammonia season. The UAN-32 market in the South Central region continued to be quoted at $280-$285/st ($8.75-$8.91/unit) FOB terminals for cash tons.
Southeast: Sources continued to quote the UAN-32 market at the $255/st ($7.97/unit) level FOB most port terminals in the Southeast, with UAN-30 pricing pegged at $238-$240/st ($7.93-$8.00/unit) FOB. Out of inland terminals in Georgia, the UAN-32 market was quoted at $255-$260/st ($7.97-$8.13/unit) FOB.
U.S. Gulf: New prompt business last week was quoted at $305-$312/st FOB, down slightly from the prior week’s $305-$315/st FOB. January business was called $320/st FOB.
Prills continued to be called $315-$330/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: The granular urea market was pegged at $345-$365/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt. The low end was reported out of Cincinnati, Ohio, and spot river locations in Illinois, with the upper end of the range FOB inland warehouses in the Ohio market.
Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market was steady at $350-$370/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with pricing at most river terminals quoted in the lower half of that range.
Southern Plains: Granular urea remained flat at $345-$350/st FOB the Tulsa market. Dealer reference prices were reportedly unchanged at $365/st FOB Houston.
South Central: Sources pegged the granular urea market at $345-$360/st FOB terminals in the South Central region, down $10-$15/st from last report, with the low reported out of Blytheville, Ark., and the upper end FOB Memphis, Tenn.
Southeast: Several suppliers were out of urea at regional terminals last week, but pricing levels appeared to be down for new inventories coming in. The upper end of the regional range was quoted at $405/st FOB Wilmington, N.C., for the last business, but new inventories slated for the Savannah, Ga., market were reported to be dropping to as low as $370/st FOB.
Carolina contacts reported rail-DEL urea coming into the region for $385-$390/st last week, down $10/st from last report.
India: Reports of spot shortages of urea in India are becoming a regular feature in local media reports. At the same time, local politicians are demanding more action by the government to ensure a plentiful supply to wrap up the application season.
Sources outside the country say it is not surprising to see some localized shortages. Traders report that India started its buying late and there were some delays in shipments. Now, however, the last two tenders showed a strong buying program could ease concerns.
Another tender is expected in the next few weeks. The big issue now is keeping track of how many tons are sitting in the Chinese bonded warehouses after the STC and TCP/Pakistan tender award winners finish loading.
Any tender called in December will involve January shipments. By that time, the Chinese export rules are expected to change to make exports more available throughout the year. How the new policy will play out in offers is still uncertain.
Sources speculate that the tender announcement will take place around the time of the Fertilizer Association of India annual meeting Dec. 10-12.
China: Granular urea continues to be the unwanted product. Sources say the lull in granular buying is seasonal, but is nonetheless upsetting to producers.
Even though there is no current demand for granular, sources say producers are loathe to lower their prices below $300/mt FOB.
Prilled urea continues to load for India and will soon start loading for Pakistan. Once all the existing contracts are loaded, sources expect only about 500,000 mt to be left for end-of-year sales. The problem is buyers may not want to pick up December tons.
The general consensus in the industry is that Beijing will alter the export rules to allow for exports at a flat rate, now pegged at RMB80/mt (US$13/mt). The change in export policy, say sources, could soften the global market because it will make more urea available for the whole year instead of just for a few months.
Material currently sitting in the bonded warehouses carries an export duty of RMB40/mt (US$6.50/mt). December product is taxed at 15 per
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Major players concluded December business at $625/mt CFR, down $30/mt from November’s $655/mt CFR. The previous week, sources had been predicting a $20-$30/mt drop, though some large buyers were hoping for much more.
While Ukraine continues as a problem spot for exports, both Algeria and Libya plants have returned to production. Trinidad is expected to continue with partial gas curtailments going forward. In the meantime, most called the U.S. fall season “weak” with respect to ammonia. In addition, Mosaic has cut DAP production to 70-80 percent.
December NYMEX natural gas rolled off the board Nov. 25 at $4.282/mmBtu, compared to the Nov. 20 close of $4.489/mmBtu. January gas closed Nov. 25 at $4.403/mmBtu.
Eastern Cornbelt: Eastern Cornbelt sources continued to report minimal fall ammonia work in the region, with weather and soil conditions limiting activity in many areas. One terminal source reported only 2-5 trucks moving per day from that location last week.
The ammonia market remained at $650-$660/st FOB regional terminals for spot tons, with the low end reported in Illinois.
Western Cornbelt: Sources reported spotty fall ammonia movement in the Western Cornbelt, but the pace was not heavy. The regional ammonia market was pegged at $615-$660/st FOB for prompt pull, with the low in Nebraska and the upper end FOB Palmyra, Mo.
Missouri sources quoted delivered ammonia at $640-$650/st from southern production points.
Dakota Gasification confirmed that it had an unplanned outage at its Beulah, N.D., ammonia plant that will keep the facility down until mid-December. The company also said it plans to announce a winter fill and spring prepay program within a few weeks.
Southern Plains: Southern Plains sources reported only spotty fertilizer movement in the region last week, with activity limited to a few spot loads on wheat and pasture ground, and also on next year’s rowcrop acres.
Ammonia pricing out of most regional production points was reported in the $560-$580/st FOB range last week, with the upper end of the market tagged at the $615/st FOB level out of Kansas pipeline terminals.
South Central: Anhydrous ammonia remained at $600-$620/st FOB in the South Central region, with the low FOB Memphis, Tenn. “The lack of ammonia applications this fall may put pressure on spring UAN and urea,” said one source.
Black Sea: The last bit of business from the area was in mid-November. Sources say 5,000 mt was sold to a Turkish buyer with a netback to Yuzhnyy of just under $600/mt FOB.
The Turkey deal flies in the face of other claims of prices just above $600/mt FOB.
The industry was waiting for the conclusion of December Tampa business, not so much as a means to calculate a new Yuzhnyy price, but rather as an indicator of where the general market is heading.
ResponsibleAg, Owensboro, Ky., alerted the industry on Nov. 25 that registration for 2015 audits will begin on Dec. 1. “Registration is voluntary and is open to any business that stores or handles fertilizer products,” the organization said. “The focus of the program for the first three years will be on companies that store and handle ammonium nitrate fertilizer and/or anhydrous ammonia fertilizer.”
ResponsibleAg has also announced the credentialing of its first class of retail facility auditors. The group will provide businesses participating in ResponsibleAg with thorough federal regulatory compliance audits related to the safe storage and handling of fertilizers.
The newly trained auditors include Andy Easley, Germantown, Tenn.; Roger Waller of Agri-AFC LLC, Brewton, Ala.; Marie Cook of Alabama Farmers Co-op, Decatur, Ala.; Allen Summers, Dustin Warder, Ewa Oller, and Randy Lawrence of the Asmark Institute, Owensboro; Pete Mutschler of CHS Inc., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; Dennis Doonan of Crop Production Services (CPS), Aledo, Ill.; Dave Jenkins of CPS Bennington, Neb.; Greg Groves of CPS Loveland, Colo.; Sam Murphy of CPS Owensboro; Kevin Frye of Growmark, Bloomington, Ill.; Paul Derig of J.R. Simplot Co., Boise, Idaho; David Klahr and Scott Morris of KFSA, Hutchinson, Kan.; Alan Mahoney of MFA Inc., Columbia, Mo.; Jane Boerboom of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Saint Paul, Minn.; Greg Turner of SafEnvirons Inc., Americus, Ga.; Dan Ray of Safety Consulting Services LLC, Springfield, Ill.; Randy Crowell of Tennessee Farmers Co-op, La Vergne, Tenn.; and Clark Capwell and Jim Lemon of The McGregor Company, Colfax, Wash.
The auditors completed a rigorous four-day training course at the Ford B. West Center for Responsible Agriculture in Owensboro. Pre-requisites for participation in the course include a minimum of five years’ experience working in the agricultural inputs industry; a minimum of five years’ experience working with environmental, health, safety, security, or loss control issues; and a working knowledge of Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulatory requirements for fertilizer retailers. The next training sessions are scheduled for Dec. 2-5, with an additional nine sessions scheduled for 2015.
| Ammonia | 565 |
| Urea (g) | 305-312 |
| Urea (p) | 315-330 |
| DAP | 405-415 |
