The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. has named Ivan Smith executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. He replaces former executive vice president Vincent Brockman, who resigned to pursue other interests. Since 2009, Smith has served as assistant general counsel and vice president. He joined Scotts in 2003 as associate general counsel and director of litigation. Previously, he was a litigator with the international law firm Jones Day. He received a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and received his Juris Doctorate degree from Ohio State University.
A 25-year old employee of PCL Construction fell to his death from a scaffold at Agrium Inc.’s Vanscoy, Sask., potash mine early Saturday, July 13. Agrium said its emergency response team was immediately activated along with local emergency services and that a full investigation is underway. “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the deceased co-worker,” said an Agrium spokesman who said the company is working with regulatory authorities at this time.
Agrium is in the process of expanding its Vanscoy mine.
The Trading Corp. of Pakistan changed the terms for the urea tender that closes July 17.
The new terms require companies offering tons in the tender to quote only one price for all Pakistani ports instead of different rates for different ports.
In the last tender, the lowest offer from Toepfer was designated for Gwandar port. The TCP tender review committee ruled that Toepfer had not fulfilled the terms of the tender by specifying the port of discharge. The committee awarded a contract to Transammonia. It was then overruled, Toepfer was awarded the tender but then Toepfer declined the award.
In order to avoid any future problems, TCP altered the July 17 tender documents to make it clear that the offered price would be for any port of the buyer’s choice.
The move comes in an already unusual tender.
TCP was given dispensation from the normal 30-day notice period to allow it to buy up to 300,000 mt as soon as possible. Also, the minimum offer requirements were moved up from the normal 50,000 mt to 75,000 mt.
Sources commented when the tender was announced that TCP apparently wanted to get its purchases secured before the Indians call another tender and possible heat up the market.
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Sources said it was too early for anything new for Tampa for August. It is never too early to speculate, however, with sources predicting the market would remain under pressure due to soft global prices.
Eastern Cornbelt: Temperatures reached the 90s in parts of southern Illinois and Indiana last week, with heat index readings climbing into the triple digits. The heat and humidity fueled some powerful thunderstorms, particularly in northern Ohio and western/central Indiana.
Corn continued to benefit from the heat and rainfall, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 83 percent of Ohio’s crop, 81 percent of the acreage in Indiana, and 68 percent in Illinois. Soybean conditions were also good, with 73-75 percent of the regional crop rated as good or excellent last week.
Sources continued to quote the ammonia market at $620-$630/st FOB in Illinois, while pricing out of Indiana terminals was reported at the $685/st FOB mark for the last business.
Western Cornbelt: Sources reported typical July weather across the Western Cornbelt last week, with heat and humidity contributing to rapid crop growth.
A Nebraska source said crops looked great in his trade area, but corn fields were showing early signs of drought stress. “It’s just starting to curl a little, so crops could use a drink,” he said. Other sources noted that the wet spring has resulted in a wide variance in corn development, which will likely give the sidedress season longer legs this year.
Lower prices were reported for anhydrous ammonia in the region. Nebraska sources quoted the low end of the regional market at $510/st FOB for prompt take and $495/st FOB for fill tons shipped in August or September. The upper end of the regional range was pegged at $570/st FOB Palmyra, Mo., for fill tons.
Missouri sources also quoted fill ammonia in the $535-$540/st DEL range from southern production points, where the market was quoted as low as $465/st FOB after netbacks.
California: Anhydrous ammonia pricing was quoted at $765-$770/st DEL in California, with aqua ammonia referenced at the $205/st FOB level.
Effective July 1, Agrium’s anhydrous ammonia postings moved to $765/st truck-DEL in Central California and $770/st truck-DEL in Northern California, down $35/st from the company’s previous postings on Feb. 5. Agrium also reposted aqua ammonia in California on July 1 at $205/st FOB, down $9/st from the Feb. 5 reference level.
Despite the typical July combination of dry conditions and sweltering heat in parts of the state, USDA on July 8 assigned good or excellent ratings to 85 percent of California’s cotton crop and fully 95 percent of the state’s rice acreage.
Pacific Northwest: Effective July 1, Agrium reposted anhydrous ammonia at $640/st rail-DEL in Washington, Oregon, and northern Idaho; $660/st truck-DEL in northern Idaho and in Washington and Oregon east of the Cascades; $665/st rail-DEL in southern Idaho and Utah; and $690/st truck-DEL in Montana and northern Wyoming.
Also effective July 1, Agrium’s aqua ammonia postings in Washington moved to $165/st FOB Kennewick and Central Ferry.
Western Canada: With spring demand now over in Western Canada, sources reported a new slate of lower fill prices for nitrogen products in early July.
The anhydrous ammonia market was quoted at $672-$686/mt DEL in Manitoba, $686-$695/mt DEL in Saskatchewan, and $695-$722/mt DEL in Alberta and British Columbia. Those levels were down some $270/mt from spring pricing levels in the region.
Generally warm and dry weather conditions across Western Canada helped crops advance rapidly in early July, though some locations experienced severe thunderstor
U.S. Gulf: Granular barge prices moved up last week to $310-$322/st FOB, with the higher end of the range more common. Sources said if anyone wanted prompt barges, they would have to pay up as very little prompt material was available. That, however, could change as vessels start to arrive later this month and into August.
Some speculated that a significant amount of Chinese material may wind up in the U.S. in the near term. There were still reports last week of product in the low $300s/st FOB, with sources saying it was most likely Chinese material. Prills edged down a bit, to $336-$340/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing remained in the $360-$370/st FOB range in the Eastern Cornbelt.
Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market was quoted in the $350-$370/st FOB range in the Western Cornbelt, with product still dribbling for sidedressing and on rice in southern Missouri. The Tulsa, Okla., granular urea market was reported at $340-$350/st FOB last week.
California: Sources quoted the granular urea market in California at $450/st FOB on the low end.
Agrium’s granular urea postings in California dropped on July 1 to $460/st FOB West Sacramento; $470/st FOB Hanford and Richvale; $490/st truck-DEL in Central California; $500/st truck-DEL in Northern California; and $525/st truck-DEL in the Desert California counties of Imperial, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego. Those levels were down $15-$30/st from the company’s May 2 urea postings, depending on location.
Pacific Northwest: Granular urea pricing was down dramatically, with sources quoting the dealer market at $410-$430/st FOB and $425-$440/st DEL in the Pacific Northwest.
Agrium’s granular urea postings dropped on July 1 to $425/st FOB Pella, Idaho; $430/st FOB West Woodburn, Ore.; $435/st FOB Washington warehouses at Glade, Warden, Moses Lake, Plymouth, and Wilson; $430-$440/st DEL in Montana and Wyoming, depending on location; $440/st DEL in Washington, Oregon excluding Malheur County, northern Idaho, northern Nevada, the Klamath Basin, and northern and central Utah; and $445/st DEL in southern Utah. Those postings were down $135-$145/st from Agrium’s Feb. 1 urea postings in the region, depending on location.
Western Canada: The granular urea market as of July 1 had fallen to $480-$490/mt DEL in Manitoba, $490-$495/mt DEL in Saskatchewan, and $495-$510/mt DEL in Alberta and British Columbia.
Pakistan: The government ordered TCP to conduct a snap tender for 300,000 mt to close July 17. The tender documents say the material can be sourced from any country. Offers of less than 75,000 mt will be rejected.
Normally a TCP tender closes one month after the announcement. The Economic Coordination Committee, however, allowed an exemption in this case to hurry along the urea imports.
Sources expected to see another TCP tender after the confusing situation surrounding the June 5 tender for 50,000 mt. At that time, TCP rejected the Toepfer offer and made an award to Transammonia, then withdrew the award and made a new award to Toepfer, only to have Toepfer reject the new award. In the end, Transammonia got the award at $337/mt CFR.
As the dust was settling following that deal, sources said Pakistan would need another 100,000 mt soon. Sources report that TCP held off asking permission for another tender right away because India was in the market at the time. The additional call for tonnage could have helped fire up a depressingly soft urea market.
Now, TCP is getting out in between Indian tenders.
The last tender from India by STC showed a very low price of $303/mt CFR. While no one expects to see similar prices for the TCP tender, sources are betting that t
U.S. Gulf: Players continued to call the market $325-$330/st FOB.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate was quoted in the $390-$400/st FOB range in the Western Cornbelt, reflecting a $5-$10/st drop from last report.
California: The AN-20 market remained at $295/st FOB and $310/st DEL in California. No current prices were reported for ammonium nitrate in the state.
CAN-17 remained in a broad range at $328-$358/st FOB in California, depending on location and supplier, with the low in Central California and the high in Southern California.
Pacific Northwest: CAN-17 was steady at $338/st FOB Kennewick, Wash. No market was reported for ammonium nitrate in the region.
Eastern Cornbelt: Eastern Cornbelt sources continued to quote granular ammonium sulfate at the $375/st FOB level for prompt pull at the upper end of the range, but Honeywell reportedly announced a summer fill program last week at $270/st FOB in the Midwest.
The ammonium thiosulfate market remained at a nominal $355-$360/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt region.
Western Cornbelt: The ammonium sulfate market was in a state of transition last week. Although sources continued to report terminal prices ranging from $310-$360/st FOB in the region for prompt tons, Honeywell reportedly announced a fill program for granular ammonium sulfate at the $270/st FOB level in the Midwest.
The ammonium thiosulfate market was down as well, with sources quoting a $310-$355/st FOB range in the region last week.
California: The ammonium sulfate market remained at $360-$380/st FOB in California. Sources speculated that lower postings are imminent, but nothing was announced last week.
Ammonium thiosulfate was referenced at $310/st FOB Stockton for truck tons.
Pacific Northwest: Agrium’s granular ammonium sulfate postings moved down on July 1 to $340/st FOB and $345/st DEL in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada.
Effective July 1, IRM’s ammonium sulfate postings in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana dropped to $335/st FOB and $345/st DEL for Tranzform and WesternPremium, and $285/st FOB and $295/st DEL for WesternStandard. Those levels were down $25-$30/st from the company’s previous list prices, depending on product.
Ammonium thiosulfate remained at $330-$340/st FOB Washington terminals.
Western Canada: Granular ammonium sulfate pricing was quoted at $380-$390/mt DEL in Western Canada last week, down $90-$100/mt from spring levels.
Central Florida:Adequate rain and warm temperatures meant good growing conditions for crops in the eastern part of the country, which is primarily served by rail from Central Florida or North Carolina.
As has been the case for some time, nothing really changed in the Central Florida phosphate market last week. The DAP price range for the Central Florida market remained at $435-$450/st FOB, with large customers receiving the best prices. MAP continued to bring a $20/st premium over DAP in Central Florida.
U.S. Gulf: USDA surprised many in the agricultural industry – and certainly the futures market – when it released its latest estimate for corn and soybean production.
Because of the wet weather that delayed planting this spring, many expected the department to lower the corn production estimate from 14 billion bushels to around 13.1 billion bushels. However, that did not happen. The government stuck to its guns and kept its original estimate intact, or very close to it, at 13.95 billion bushels of corn.
USDA also said corn stocks for 2013/14 would rise to 1,959 million bushels from 729 million bushels for 2012/13, and soybeans would rise from 125 million bushels in 2012/13 to 265 million bushels for 2013/14. Because of the lower yields last year due to drought and greater exports to China, stocks of corn and soybeans will not be excessive, USDA said.
Some said USDA was overly optimistic, however, citing late plantings in crucial corn states like Iowa. The futures market did its own math, taking into account the late planting and the continued potential for drought, and crop prices last week were on the rise.
Corn for July was at $7.15/bushel last week, up from $6.645/bushel a week earlier. Corn for December 2013 rose to $5.59/bushel from the previous week’s $5.30/bushel, and corn for December 2014 was posted at $5.26/bushel last week, up from $5.0125/bushel the previous week.
Soybeans for July were at $16.0125/bushel last week, up from $15.73/bushel a week earlier. Soybean prices for November 2013 were up to $14.72/bushel from $14.3575/bushel the previous week, while soybeans for November 2014 moved up to $12.907/bushel from the prior week’s $12.4325/bushel.
Wheat for July 2013 increased to $6.7925/bushel from $6.5075/bushel the previous week, while wheat for September 2013 moved to $6.83/bushel, up from $6.575/bushel at last report. The wheat price for July 2015 was posted at $7.1225/bushel last week, up from $7.02/bushel the previous week.
Water levels on the Mississippi River and its major tributaries remained high but below flood stage at most locations last week. NOLA phosphate and other fertilizer barges were reporting no problems navigating the waterways.
Between the lack of need to refill bins and the upcoming Southwestern Fertilizer Conference in San Antonio, activity was even slower last week than the previous week. Only a few transactions were found, and they were generally at a lower price than the previous week.
The NOLA DAP barge price dropped to $408-$415/st FOB last week based on actual transactions, compared with $420-$425/st FOB the previous week. The NOLA DAP barges that were sold included a mix of both domestic and Moroccan product, although Moroccan actually had a greater presence in the spot market.
MAP, which was less available, was still in the $440-$455/st FOB NOLA range, with the lowest price for Russian product and the highest for domestic. Very little MAP was traded. Vessels coming during the next month or so from Morocco will likely depress the MAP price, and possibly DAP as well.
Eastern Cornbelt: The DAP market was quoted in the $450-$480/st FOB range in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported in Illinois on a spot basis and the upper end out of inland warehouses in Ohio. MAP was
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