Sittard, The Netherlands-Stamicarbon, the licensing and IP Center of Maire Tecnimont, said July 9 that it has been awarded a contract for the license of a 3,600 mt/d urea plant in Brazil for Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) (GM June 28, p. 1). The project foresees the provision of the license, process design, and related services for the grass roots urea plant in Tres Lagoas, Brazil, which will use Stamicarbon’s Urea 2000plusTM Technology and Safurex® stainless steel. The commissioning is scheduled for 2014. The new plant will be the second Stamicarbon urea plant in Brazil. The first plant, which is not operated by Petrobras, was commissioned in the early 1980’s.
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Firmer international prices have sources speculating about higher numbers for Tampa for July, though one source didn’t expect them to go up too much – if they do.
U.S. ammonia imports for May were up 13 percent, to 639,431 st from the year-ago 565,049 st. However, July-May imports were off 1 percent at 6 million st, down from 6.087 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Anhydrous ammonia in the Eastern Cornbelt was pegged in the $420-$435/st FOB range to the dealer, depending on location. For the July 14-16 order and shipment period, CF reposted anhydrous ammonia at $430/st FOB Illinois terminals at Albany, Cowden, Kingston Mines, Peru, and Seneca; $425/st FOB Indiana terminals at Frankfort, Huntington, and Terra Haute; and $420/st FOB Mt. Vernon, Ind.
Western Cornbelt: A Missouri contact reported dealer pricing for anhydrous ammonia FOB Palmyra, Mo., at $425/st for cash tons and $430/st for prepay, while Iowa sources quoted fall prepay ammonia in the $410-$440/st FOB range last week, depending on location. Other contacts said fill pricing FOB production points in Oklahoma and Kansas had firmed to $360-$385/st FOB.
For the July 14-16 order and shipment period, CF reposted anhydrous ammonia at $385/st FOB Aurora and Fremont, Neb.; $400/st FOB Spencer, Iowa; $410/st FOB Garner, Iowa; and $420/st FOB Palmyra.
Agrium alerted customers on July 13 that the next phase of ammonia pipeline testing being conducted by Magellan Midstream Partners LP will require the Greenwood, Neb., terminal to be out of service from July 15 through Aug. 31, 2010. Agrium said product availability at terminals in Borger, Texas, Homestead, Neb., and Early and Garner, Iowa, “will not be affected throughout the testing process.”
Northern Plains: Sources reported some fill numbers circulating for anhydrous ammonia in the region. A Minnesota contact quoted the market at $420-$430/st FOB terminals for fall tons, while North Dakota sources reported ammonia fill at the $415/st DEL mark from at least one producer. For the July 14-16 order and shipment period, CF reposted anhydrous ammonia at $420/st FOB Grand Forks, N.D., and Minnesota terminals at Glenwood and Pine Bend, and $430/st FOB Velva, N.D.
Eastern Canada: Anhydrous ammonia was steady at $525/mt FOB Courtright, Ont.
Middle East: Prices are expected to continue to firm in the area as fewer Iranian tons become available. Area sources say the start-up of major urea production in Iran is drawing off excess ammonia that could have been offered at discount rates to buyers in India and Asia. As it stands now, said one source, Iran will be a steady supplier of ammonia, but it will no longer overwhelm the market as it did in the past 60 days.
Arab producers are resigned to seeing Iranian tons made available at a $5-$10/mt discount. One producer noted that the Iranian price will rise as the market rises. It’s just that with Iranian ammonia available, said one source, the Arab producers can only inch the price up.
No new business has been concluded in a couple of weeks that would confirm talk of a firmer market. The only thing that points to stronger prices is Arab producers claiming the market is now $305-$310/mt FOB. One trader noted, however, that the $305/mt FOB can be confirmed from older business with India. The $310/mt FOB currently seems to be the main desire of the producers.
Adding to the bullish attitude of the Arab producers are reports that Egypt is now beginning to divert more of its ammonia to Europe.
Sources said the lack of production by the Ukrainian ammonia suppliers has led some European buyers to look elsewhere for their needs.
Egypt supplied India with some material in an effort to get a toehold on the Indian market, said one trader. Because of the longer steaming time, the netback was correspondingly lower.
With Egypt now looking to Europe, said one source, India will have to keep its gaze firmly set on the Arab Gulf. For the Arab producers, that means facing competition from only Iran instead of Iran and Egypt.
Some sub-$300/mt FOB material is moving out of the area from Iran. No new business from there has been identified, either.
As a result of no new public business, sources say the market has remained in the $295-$305/mt FOB range. Traders and producers agree that all the essentials are in place to shift that range upward. All it will take is one buyer ready to pay a bit more.
Black Sea: Sources report Ukrainian producers remain on extended turnarounds. As a result of no new material flowing to the ports, sources report the tanks are bone dry.
Prices have firmed up for what few tons are available. Sources report the price remains strongly in the low $300s/mt FOB.
Ukrainian producers would like to see the price get past $320/mt FOB. Sources say that is the new estimated breakeven point for production, as higher prices for natural gas from Russia continue to dog producers.
Even without price changes from the Russians, the Ukrainian government is raising the price of natural gas by 50 percent to households in an effort to qualify for a US$14.9 billion International Monetary Fund loan. Analysts say it will only be a short time before industrial buyers are also hit with the price increase.
The increase represents the first step to wean Ukrainian consumers off subsidized fuel and power costs.
Asia: Industrial buyers in Taiwan and South Korea have slowed down in their purchases. Sources say the reduction in buying is due more to seasonal issues and scheduled maintenance shutdowns than to a larger economic downturn. Sources expect to see buyers come back into the market with larger orders after August.
UREA
U.S. Gulf: Urea and UAN prices continued to move up last week, with sources noting a few factors – including CF’s export of sizeable quantities in recent weeks. Sources say this shored up the market and served to keep prices firm-to-stronger. At the same time, the international market for both is too strong to attract imports to the U.S. On top of this, corn and other crop prices moved up, giving higher fertilizer prices a better chance of making their way down the supply chain.
The import market was pretty good for the U.S. in May, with urea imports up 62 percent, to 638,882 st from the year-ago 394,205 st. For July-May it was up only 8 percent, to 5.96 million st from the year-ago 5.5 million st.
The bulls were in charge of the urea barge market last week, with most calling new trades at mid-week in the midto-high $260s/st FOB. By Friday morning, others reported the market as $270-$272/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea was quoted at $295-$310/st FOB regional terminals to the dealer.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea was quoted at $285-$300/st FOB in the region, with the low out of spot river terminals in Missouri and the upper end quoted in the Iowa market. One Iowa source pegged summer fill urea in the $305-$310/st DEL range to his location last week.
Northern Plains: Granular urea was pegged at $290-$300/st FOB Minnesota terminals, with delivered tons in North Dakota quoted in the $315-$320/st range. Effective July 1, Agrium’s urea postings moved to $315/st FOB North Dakota terminals at Alton, Carrington, Colfax, Scranton, and Grand Forks, and $320/st rail-DEL in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Northeast: Several sources said the last urea tons they purchased were still at the $305/st FOB level out of Philadelphia, but others said current dealer pricing had firmed to $320-$325/st FOB in the region.
Eastern Canada: Granular urea remained at $390-$450/mt FOB for spot tons, although one source said a fill program was announced at mid-month with pricing in his location at the $360/mt FOB mark.
India: The STC tender that closed July 13 showed that producers were serious about moving the price up. The subsequent talks also showed that Indian buyers were just as serious about limiting the increases.
STC promptly awarded contracts to Transammonia and Dreymoor. The company then went into talks with the Middle East producers to see about getting a few dollars shaved off the offers.
Quantum, Swiss Singapore, Sinochem, and Ameropa received awards as well.
Sources say Toepfer and Keytrade backed off when STC insisted they match the lower prices set by the other trading houses.
Sources report that late Thursday night, local time, talks between the Arab Gulf producers and STC broke down. STC had counterbid at $266-$267/mt FOB. The producers held firm with their original offers.
All told, a maximum of 590,000 mt was booked. One Asian trader noted that the goal for each of the previous Indian tenders has been to take about 500,000 mt. A few previous ones fell short, such as the May MMTC tender that ended up in awards of only 150,000 mt. The recent IPL tender also fell short of the half-million mark when it bought only 350,000 mt.
Sources were saying late last week that STC might have to move to take up some of the slack from previous purchases. Others argue that domestic urea production, the output of Indian joint-venture firms offshore, and current reserves are sufficient as long as tender buying hovers in the 300-500,000 mt range, and that Indian farmers will not go wanting for urea.
The reluctance of the Middle East producers to lower their prices was reminiscent of the MMTC tender when the producers offered only a $2-$3/mt drop, while MMTC wanted $10 off.
The tender results follow on page 6.
Awards as of Friday close of business in India are as follows:
Company
Quantity
Discharge Port
Dreymoor
110,000
Mundra – Kistnapatam
Transammonia
250,000
Mundra – Kistnapatam
Quantum
50,000
Pradeep – Kistnapatam
Swiss Singapore
25,000
Mundra
Ameropa
50-60,000
Kistnapatam
Sinochem
50,000
Kistnapatam
Gavilon
45,000
Kistnapatam
Industry sources expect to see another tender issued before the end of August.
Indonesia: The Indonesian government came through with export licenses July 14. Almost immediately, Kaltim and Pusri called selling tenders for August shipment.
Pusri will close its tender for 60,000 mt of prilled urea Monday afternoon.
Kaltim will close its granular urea tender for 20,000 mt and a seller’s option of 10,000 mt Tuesday.
Sources say Pusri will either cut a lot of deals or work out a swap with Kaltim to cover domestic demand.
The Pusri port has a draught that limits vessels to 5,000 mt. The resulting tie-ups that could occur as 12 vessels line up for the Pusri product could cause problems for both the seller and buyers.
One trader suggested the most likely situation will be for Pusri to swap tons with Kaltim. Kaltim would export 60,000 mt of prilled urea, while Pusri would cover Kaltim’s domestic customers for the same amount.
The last tender held was May 26, when Pusri sold off 7,800 mt remaining from its 2009 export allotments. At that time the selling price was $268/mt FOB, a drop from the previous tender.
Traders do not expect to see a dramatic increase in the
Indonesian price. Even the May price would make selling
the tons anywhere except nearby countries difficult.
Middle East: Once again, producers held firm against Indian efforts. The offers to India from three producers at $274-$275/mt FOB reflected where producers think the market should be.
When the producers offered into the MMTC tender May 29, MMTC wanted a $10-$15/mt drop in prices. Producers were only willing to go down a few dollars, to $238/mt FOB, from the initial offer of $245/mt FOB.
Both sides refused to budge, and no deal was done. The same happened with the IPL tender last month.
And now, the offers are $30/mt higher than a month and a half ago – and $10/mt higher than the IPL tender.
And again, no accommodation could be reached.
Industry sources say the Middle East producers are all in good shape and have no need to lower their pricing expectations.
Iran is sold out thanks to the IPL tender.
Sabic, which did not participate in the STC tender, has a full order book well into September.
The other producers have enough other orders to keep their reserves at a manageable level.
Sources say a few of the companies are preparing their orders for shipment to the U.S. in the next couple of weeks.
Others have orders with Southeast Asia and Australia. Besides these locations, Sabic also has its commitment to Pakistan under a government-to-government deal done earlier this year.
Sources say without a firm public deal at a higher price, the market has to be called just a bit higher than last week.
Everyone is convinced the $245/mt FOB material from Iran is long gone. This was evident from the offers of Iranian tons that came in the low $260s/mt FOB.
Still, said one source, if someone was ready and able to handle the paperwork of dealing with Iranian tons and could find a buyer willing to take it, a deal might be done at $250-$255/mt FOB.
Black Sea: Yuzhnyy may end up being the big winner in the STC tender. Dreymoor offered mostly CIS material in that tender. The other companies getting awards also included CIS material as part of their offers.
Without much haggling, the price range from the Black Sea jumped into the upper $260s/mt FOB and reached into the $270s/mt FOB as a result of the tenders. Sources say each of the offering companies probably already had forward positions on product significantly below that level, but not too much lower.
The potential sales to India from the Black Sea harken back to an earlier day, before the entrance of Chinese urea offered serious challenges to the Middle East and Yuzhnyy.
Based on the STC tender, the market sources peg the market at $260-$270/mt FOB.
But even at that price, estimates are that the break-even point for urea production in Ukrainian plants is $280/mt.
Late last week the Ukrainian government bowed to pressure from the IMF and announced a 50 percent price increase for natural gas to households. The move was seen by some analysts as a first step to higher prices for the industrial sector as well.
The increase represents the first step to wean Ukrainian consumers off subsidized fuel and power costs.
The new prices could push the break-even point to $300/mt FOB.
Pakistan: TCP closes its tender for 100,000 mt July 22. Sources expect to see prices up from the last tender, when Helm was awarded 50,000 mt at $292/mt CFR.
Chances are, say observers, offers will once again be in 50,000 mt lots. That would mean another follow-up tender for TCP to get the tons it needs.
NITROGEN SOLUTIONS
U.S. Gulf: Finding new trades last week continued to be hard to do; however, the one number that sources continued to hone in on as being done was $170/st FOB ($5.31/unit FOB). As noted above under urea, sources cited CF for exporting large quantities of UAN, thereby depleting NOLA inventories going into the summer fill season. As a result, noted sources, the market will not go down to the $120/st FOB achieved last summer. Indeed, the low may well have been the $150-$155/st FOB recently reported for buyers of large quantities. Also, noted sources, at current pricing the U.S. is not attracting stray imports.
The U.S. market did attract some imports back in May, with imports up 19 percent to 124,337 st, up from the year ago 104,113 st. July-May imports, however, are up only 3 percent, to 1.58 million st from 1.54 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-32 fill tons were reportedly being offered in the $228-$230 ($7.13-$7.19/unit) rail-DEL range in Ohio and Indiana, while UAN-28 was pegged at $185/st ($6.61/unit) FOB Cincinnati and $193/st ($6.89/unit) FOB Terra Haute for July/August tons. At the upper end of the range out of terminals in northern Ohio and southern Michigan, sources pegged the UAN-28 market at $203-$204/st ($7.25-$7.28/unit) FOB on a spot basis.
Western Cornbelt: UAN-32 was pegged at $210-$220/st ($6.56-$6.88/unit) FOB terminals to the dealer, with reference pricing from some regional suppliers reportedly as high as $240/st ($7.50/unit) FOB.
Northern Plains: UAN was pegged at $7.03-$7.50/unit FOB regional terminals. North Dakota sources quoted delivered UAN-28 as high as the $245/st ($8.75/unit) level for prompt ship.
Northeast: UAN-30 was quoted at the $200/st ($6.67/unit) level FOB Baltimore. A Delaware source pegged delivered UAN-32 at the $6.84/unit level from Chesapeake, Va. UAN-32 pricing out of tanks in upstate New York was quoted at $240/st ($7.50/unit) FOB.
Eastern Canada: UAN-28 was unchanged at $230-$255/mt ($8.21-$9.11/unit) FOB regional terminals, depending on location, with dealer postings for UAN-32 at the $286/mt ($8.94/unit) FOB level in Ontario.
AMMONIUM NITRATE
U.S. Gulf: Price ideas appear to be moving up; however, the industry still awaits word of actual new trades. Sources said sellers are seeking $265/st FOB or higher.
May imports were up 38 percent, to 55,334 st from the year-ago 40,235 st. However, July-May imports were down 22 percent, to 466,443 st from 599,630 st.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate remained at $300-$325/st FOB in the region, with the low in Missouri and the high in Iowa.
Eastern Canada: Ammonium nitrate was quoted in the $350-$400/mt FOB range in Eastern Canada, with the low in southern Ontario and the upper end in the Maritimes.
AMMONIUM SULFATE
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was quoted at $170-$180/st FOB or rail-DEL based on dealer pricing for summer fill tons, with mid-grade sulfate referenced at $155/st FOB or rail-DEL.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was pegged at $170-$180/st FOB, with the low end also quoted on a rail-delivered basis for summer fill tons.
Northern Plains: Sources pegged the low end of the ammonium sulfate market at $195/st DEL last week from one regional supplier. Agrium reposted ammonium sulfate on July 1 at $225/st DEL in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Honeywell on June 23 lowered its ammonium sulfate postings to $170/st FOB for granular and $155/st FOB for mid-grade in Minnesota.
Northeast: Granular ammonium sulfate was pegged at $190/st rail-DEL in the region for summer fill tons, which was down from last report. No current FOB prices were confirmed in the region.
Eastern Canada: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $270-$318/mt FOB in the region.
U.S. Imports: May imports were off 7 percent, to 24,733 st from the year-ago 26,692 st. However, July-May imports were up 12 percent, to 380,460 st from 338,975 st.
PHOSPHATES
Central Florida: Prompt phosphate sales were made out of Central Florida last week – and not simply for truckloads, but railcars as well, according to sources. Nevertheless, sales lagged far behind those made on the Gulf’s river system, which was booming in terms of both volume and price. Agrifos was busy with multiple sales last week.
Some in the industry were wondering whether The Mosaic Co. would really close its South Fort Meade Mine because of a lawsuit filed by environmentalists (page 1). In reality, some were betting that probably won’t happen, at least not permanently. The federal wetlands permit contested in the lawsuit would allow enlarging the mine by more than 10,000 acres, even if Mosaic were to lose mining rights on several hundred acres in sensitive areas.
The Central Florida DAP price range changed from the previous $395-$400/st FOB to a flat $400/st FOB last week. CF’s price was $395/st FOB, but was said to have nothing available. However, Mosaic was charging $400/st FOB, and was making sales at that price. PCS was making sales at “competitive prices.” Prices from Agrifos were unchanged at $440/st FOB for MAP and $430/st FOB for DAP, and railcars were about $5/st FOB less. Prices for MAP were $10/st higher than DAP. The price was not likely to come down during the next few weeks, but could go up.
U.S. Gulf: Anyone planning to buy phosphate in the next month probably should have done so two weeks ago. Since then the trend has been upward, and that will probably continue through this week as well.
Two weeks ago, NOLA DAP barges were selling for as little as $408/st FOB, but by the end of last week the price had increased nearly $20/st FOB, and will probably continue upward this week.
Although some are less convinced, phosphate is joined at the waist with corn, and the outlook of corn has been steadily rosier. After falling to around $3.50/bushel in June, the price of December 2010 corn on the futures board had moved to $3.96/st FOB by the middle of last week. That occurred shortly after the USDA revised its estimates for both the number of acres planted and corn stocks.
Sources said some – or even many – dealers were sitting on the sidelines waiting for farmers to let them know what their plans were for the following season. The corn harvested for next year would bring a price of $4.195/bushel, if committed now. Farmers can do the math, and they know they will make more money if they fertilize – so they will. Larger operations were busy building their inventories last week, and prices for DAP/MAP were up.
Although wheat is a secondary market in comparison to corn, it is still an important factor, and that crop appeared to be close to harvest last week – at least in the Dakotas.
Large numbers of NOLA DAP barges were sold by both traders and producers, but the number of available barges for prompt shipment won’t exist this week regardless of demand, so in all probability, the price will continue to rise.
NOLA DAP barges were purchased and were as low as $415/st FOB at the beginning of last week, but the same barges were bringing as much as $425/st FOB near the end of the week. A buy, which could not be confirmed, was said to have been done at $427/st FOB. Based on confirmed sales last week, the NOLA DAP range was $415-$425/st FOB, compared to the previous week’s range of $408-$415/st FOB. Expect higher prices this week, according to most sources.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP was quoted at $440-$450/st FOB regional warehouses, with MAP $10/st higher. 10-34-0 remained at $335-$355/st FOB in the region.
Western Cornbelt: Most regional suppliers had moved their DAP dealer price to the $445/st level FOB warehouses last week, with MAP $10/st higher. The low end of the DAP warehouse market was pegged at $440/st FOB on a spot basis in southern Missouri.
10-34-0 pricing to the dealer remained at a nominal $325-$350/st FOB in the region.
Northern Plains: DAP was pegged at $450/st FOB the Twin Cities, with MAP $10/st higher. Delivered MAP in North Dakota was quoted at the $470/st mark.
10-34-0 fill tons were reportedly available at $355/st FOB Grand Forks. Effective July 1, Agrium’s phosphoric acid postings moved up $40/st from June reference levels to $785/st rail-DEL for both super phosphoric acid (SPA) and merchant grade acid (MGA) in Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Northeast: MAP remained at $465-$475/st FOB regional warehouses to the dealer, with delivered tons tagged at $472/st in southern Pennsylvania. DAP was $10/st less than MAP, where available. 10-34-0 was referenced at $360/st FOB in upstate New York.
Eastern Canada: MAP was quoted at $545-$585/mt FOB in Ontario, with the upper end reflecting the dealer reference price from some regional suppliers.
Western U.S.: Effective July 15, Simplot published new prices for DAP and MAP in the Western U.S., indicating a $10/st drop from the company’s previous list prices. As a result, the company’s DAP and MAP postings on an FOB or a DEL basis moved to $470/st in Montana; $475/st in Idaho and Utah; $480/st in Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington; and $485/st in California and Arizona.
Simplot also announced a $0.10/unit increase in its SPA and MGA postings, effective Aug. 1, bringing postings to the $8.55/unit DEL level in the Western U.S. and to the $7.95/unit DEL level in its Midwest sales region.
U.S. Export: Although inventories remained low, both PhosChem and Transammonia made export sales last week. Inventories available for export through the end of August were mostly already committed, but some can be found.
Transammonia made two sales of $455/mt FOB and $460/mt FOB into Central America. PhosChem’s sales were into South and Central America, which totaled between 14,000 and 16,000 mt at prices of $461/mt FOB and $465/mt FOB.
TFI issued its export report for June, which showed an increase in sales of MAP compared to last year, but a decrease in DAP deliveries for both the month and year.
After being inactive during the first part of the year, during the past two months India quickly re-established itself as the leading importer of DAP from the U.S. In June, India took 356,093 mt, with Peru the next largest for the month at 30,300 mt, followed by Japan at 28,451 mt. The total for the month of June was 479,708 mt. For the calendar-year-to-date, India moved to the front of the pack at 873,288 mt. Mexico was the second biggest customer at 173,030 mt, and Australia was third at 162,265 mt. The total for DAP exports so far this calendar year was 2,002,378, a decrease of 26.8 percent from the same period last year.
TFI said total MAP export sales in June were 225,324 mt, nearly double (97 percent) those for June 2009. Brazil was the major buyer at 167,436 mt, Japan was second at 21,493 mt, and Canada was third at 17,990 mt. For the calendar year-to-date, Brazil sat at the top with 242,252 mt, followed by Australia at 221,294 mt and Canada at 166,952 mt. The total amount of MAP exports so far this year was 870,261, a 14.2 percent increase over 2009.
Based on export sales made last week, the export DAP price range was $455-$465/mt FOB, up from the previous week’s range of $450-$460/mt FOB. Prices will be higher this week, as inventories will remain low.
India: The monsoon has covered the whole country after showing a 16 percent deficiency in June. This has been reassuring for fertilizer companies sitting on strong inventories.
India has so far contracted imports of 7.5 million mt DAP. With rains this week, India re-entered the market. Zuari contracted Chinese DAP from Helm and a DAP cargo from Quantum at US$492/mt CFR India for August shipment.
MMTC tendered July 9 for 25,000 mt of DAP for arrival Tuticorin in August. In addition, MMTC has floated a tender for 25,000 mt for NPs 20/20/0/13S and 25,000 mt for 16/20/0/13S arrival India during September and October.
RCF has issued tenders closing July 16 for 15-18,000 mt of DAP/MAP for captive NPK production, for shipment August to Mumbai port.
NFL has floated a tender closing July 15 for 100,000 mt of DAP for shipment the end of August through the first week of October, to be supplied in lots of 25,000 mt. Offers are to remain valid for 30 days. Also, NFL has issued a tender closing July 16 for 50,000 mt of NP/NPKs 20/20/0 and 50,000 mt 12/32/16 to be supplied in lots of 25,000 mt during end-August through mid-October. Offers are to remain valid for 30 days.
POTASH
Eastern Cornbelt: Potash was steady at $390/st FOB regional warehouses and $400/st rail-DEL in the region, based on summer fill postings from Agrium and PCS Sales for the July 1 through Sept. 30 fill period.
Western Cornbelt: Potash pricing was steady at $390-$397/st FOB, with the low for red granular and the high for white granular tons. Delivered potash was quoted in the $395-$405/st range, depending on grade, with producers referencing red granular potash generally at the $400/st DEL level for summer fill tons.
Northern Plains: PCS Sales on June 28 announced new potash postings for the July 1 through Sept. 30 fill period. The company’s published prices FOB Saskatchewan mines dropped to $345/st for standard, $350/st for granular, and $357/st for soluble and white granular. On a rail-delivered basis, the company’s granular potash postings for the same period included $400/st in Minnesota. A $20/st increase is slated for Oct. 1.
Agrium also reposted potash for the July 1 through Sept. 30 shipping period, with standard grade potash moving to $345/st and premium grade to $350/st FOB Vade, Sask. Agrium’s warehouse postings for red premium potash for the same fill period moved to $390/st FOB Shakopee, Minn., and North Dakota terminals at Grand Forks and Colfax. On a rail-delivered basis, Agrium’s red premium potash postings for July 1 through Sept. 30 moved to $400/st in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas.
Northeast: Sources quoted the potash market at $400/st FOB warehouses in western Pennsylvania, with rail-delivered pricing in the region at $410/st for red granular and $417/st for white granular potash.
For the July 1 through Sept. 30 fill period, PCS Sales posted granular potash at $397/st FOB Chesapeake, Va., and $400/st FOB Baltimore, Md. On a rail-delivered basis from July 1 through Sept. 30, granular potash postings from PCS Sales include $410/st in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. The company has a $20/st increase slated for Oct. 1.
Agrium was also out with new potash postings. On a rail delivered basis, Agrium’s red premium potash postings for July 1 through Sept. 30 included $410/st in West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Eastern Canada: Ontario sources quoted the warehouse potash market in the $440-$470/mt FOB range, depending on grade and location. One supplier was referencing red granular potash at $460/mt FOB, with white granular posted at $470/mt FOB to the dealer.
K-Mag remained at $335-$345/mt FOB in Ontario. The sulfate of potash (SOP) market was unchanged as well at $600-$645/mt FOB in Ontario.
U.S. Imports: May MOP imports were up a whopping 196 percent, to 827,391 st from the year-ago 279,247 st. July-May imports were up 24 percent, to 8.2 million st from 6.6 million st.
SULFUR
Tampa: Negotiations for new third-quarter prices for molten sulfur delivered to Tampa were underway, but no real progress had been made, according to sources. Several said that a settlement may take a little longer than usual.
The price of sulfur on the world market was down, way down from where it was just a few months ago. Sales into China were bringing about $80/mt CFR, which would amount to about $30/mt FOB Vancouver or perhaps a little higher, depending on the actual freight cost.
During the second quarter, the Tampa price for molten was $145/lt and was expected to drop about $50/lt for this quarter, but that was several weeks ago. Another scenario now for the decrease is $75-$100/lt, although that qualifies as wild speculation. Regardless, prices will be retroactive to July 1.
U.S.Imports: May imports were up 60 percent, to 153,223 st from the year-ago 95,481 st. July-May imports were off 7 percent, to 1.33 million st from 1.42 million st.
India: FACT has issued a sulfur tender for 17,000 mt for arrival Cochin during Aug. 4-12. The tender closed July 12, with bids valid until Aug. 16.
Dasco Inc., Monument, Colo., has added Buckley Medley as the area sales manager for the upper Midwest, effective July 12. The area includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Crop Sciences. Medley brings seven years of experience in the agriculture industry from companies such as Water Street Solutions, Archer Daniels Midland, and Agrigold Hybrids.
Boston-Converted Organics Inc. (CO), which uses a proprietary thermal process to produce organic fertilizer from food waste, continues to diversify, with plans to acquire TerraSphere Systems, a Massachusetts LLC and a rapidly growing pioneer in the vertical farming market. Completion of the $26 million all-stock transaction would be the company’s largest acquisition to-date and is subject to the approval of shareholders. TerraSphere designs, builds, and operates vertically-stacked modules to house rows of plants, which are then placed perpendicular to an interior light source to grow pesticide-free organic fruits and vegetables, enabling fresh produce to be grown year-round in a controlled, indoor environment at any location or climate world-wide. TerraSphere expects this innovation will revolutionize the $180 billion agriculture market by producing ten times the per-square-foot crop yield utilizing compact facilities, which reduces the need for land, water, power, and other critical resources. “Converted Organics’ acquisition of TerraSphere would expand our growing portfolio of sustainable, environmentally-friendly businesses, and would provide an immediate revenue stream for our company,” said CO President Edward Gildea. “We believe TerraSphere’s unique business model and range of patents will allow Converted Organics to quickly emerge as an early leader in the dynamic, new vertical farming industry.”
Overland Park, Kan.-North American Salt Co., part of Compass Minerals, which also includes Great Salt Lake Minerals, has added a new product to its Safe Step family of ice melters with a closely-guarded formulation that includes potash. The new product is described as pet-friendly. Compass Minerals spokeswoman Peggy Landon said she couldn’t reveal any more information, except that it’s all natural and doesn’t irritate pets’ paws. “All the technical group is saying is that it contains no urea, but there is some potash in it along with some other minerals,” Landon reported. She said the rest of the formulation is proprietary. The Compass announcement stated that what has been named “Sure Paws” is all-natural, fast-acting, and doesn’t irritate pets’ paws, but melts ice down to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit. “The ice melter was specifically created to offer consumers a pet-friendly option, developed with a patent-pending formula containing 100 percent organic ingredients, and contains no salt or chemicals. When used as directed, Sure Paws is also gentle on concrete and vegetation,” the company said.
Carteret, N.J.-Prime Lube Inc. has established a presence in central and western Pennsylvania for its BlueSky diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), signing on long-term partner and petroleum marketer J.J. Powell Inc. as the distributor in that area. Prime Lube said the deal enables J.J. Powell, the largest distributor of lubricants, diesel fuel, and heating oil to commercial fleet and industrial consumers in the region, to distribute BlueSky throughout 15 counties, covering the region from Lewistown and Phillipsburg to Bellefonte and Clearfield. J.J. Powell operates nearly a dozen Pacific Pride stations in the area. In April, Prime Lube announced its partnership with Germany’s Kruse Group – a leading global DEF manufacturer and raw materials supplier – to manufacture and distribute BlueSky DEF throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
Dexter, Mo., and Ames, Iowa-University of Missouri researchers are putting Future Farmers of America students in the field to help farmers test corn stalks for nitrogen. The results could help farmers cut down on excess fertilizer and keep nitrates out of waterways, where they get into drinking water supplies and even make their way to the Gulf of Mexico. David Dunn, manager of the soil testing lab at The University of Missouri Delta Center, said Missouri traditionally ranks as one of the top states contributing nitrate-rich pollutants that have caused the dead zone in the Gulf. The program will help farmers fine tune their fertilization rate, Dunn added. The stalk nitrate test is based on the concentration of nitrate-N in the lower cornstalk, which is the 8-inch segment from 6 to 14 inches above the ground when the plant reaches maturity. In general, as the amount of plant-available N in the soil during the time period before plant maturity increases, nitrate in the lower stalk also increases. However, the stalk nitrate-N concentration can be greatly influenced by other external and internal plant factors such as precipitation/soil moisture, stated Iowa State University agronomy professor John Sawyer. These external and internal factors complicate interpretation of stalk nitrate test results and make specific interpretation from low to optimal concentrations difficult. Sawyer cautioned that the process has limitations and that more than one year’s results are needed before changes are made in N management. “If high levels are found for several seasons, and with no drought-reduced production, then the interpretation becomes clear that the N applications are too high and there should be adjustment to more moderate rates,” the agronomist advised.
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-Penske Corp. has chosen Yara’s Air1® brand of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) to be a primary supplier of DEF across the United States and Canada. Penske has more than 1,000 locations and 200,000 vehicles worldwide. “Yara and Penske have been working together to design a program which effectively and cost efficiently serves their customers. I am extremely pleased that Penske has chosen the Air1® brand and look forward to our long-term partnership, which will offer complete solutions across North America,” said Chad Dombroski, Yara’s director of Air1®.
Disclaimer of Warranty
All information has been obtained by Green Markets from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Green Markets or others, Green Markets does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.
