Uncle Sam, La. — Officials said no serious injuries resulted from a leak of sulfur dioxide Aug. 14 at The Mosaic Co.’s Uncle Sam plant on the Mississippi River in Louisiana. Company spokesman David Townsend said nine people – a combination of employees and contract workers – were treated for nausea and other symptoms following the episode, but none were taken to local hospitals for treatment. Townsend said that at about 10:15 a.m., a blower at the sulfur plant malfunctioned and an unknown quantity of sulfur dioxide was released. He said about 200 employees and others at the plant were told to shelter in place. There was no evacuation of nearby residents or road closures, but as a precaution all workers at the plant were sent home for the day.
U.S. Gulf: Recent trades reportedly reflected business in the $240-$245/st ($7.50-$7.66/unit) FOB range, if not lower, according to sources, who said buyer price ideas are in the $230s/st FOB. There were reports that CF was readying another export.
UAN imports were off 6 percent in June, to 190,445 st from the year-ago 202,098 st. They were up 10 percent for the year ending in June, however, to 3.86 million st from 3.51 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-32 was quoted at $285-$300/st ($8.91-$9.38/unit) FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location, with UAN-28 reported in the $256.20-$262.50/st ($9.15-$9.38/unit) FOB range.
Western Cornbelt: The UAN-32 market was pegged at $285-$295/st ($8.91-$9.22/unit) FOB in the Western Cornbelt for the last sales of fill tons, with the upper end of the regional range quoted at the $300/st ($9.38/unit) FOB mark on a spot basis.
As with everything else, however, sources reported no new business. “The urea market has scared the other N markets,” said one contact. “No one wants to look at anything else right now.”
Southern Plains: Sources continued to quote the UAN-32 market at $265/st ($8.28/unit) FOB regional production points, and $300/st ($9.38/unit) FOB terminals on the coastal bend of Texas.
South Central: UAN-32 pricing in the South Central region was down from last report, with sources quoting the market at $280-$288/st ($8.75-$9.00/unit) FOB terminals, depending on location. The $280/st ($8.75/unit) level was also reportedly being floated as a spring prepay number, but, as one source put it, “nobody is asking because the market is soft.”
Southeast: The UAN-32 market was quoted at $280-$285/st ($8.75-$8.91/unit) FOB Norfolk, Va., and Wilmington, N.C. The dealer reference price FOB Savannah, Ga., remained at $295/st ($9.22/unit).
Several sources reported the UAN-32 vessel market at $275/mt CFR to the East Coast, but others were reporting as low as $266/mt CFR for recent indications.
U.S. Gulf: The granular urea market was on the way down last week, with most saying it fell below the $300/st FOB mark at midweek. Early-week trades were put at $300-$305/st FOB, but $295-$298/st FOB was reported for trades Wednesday onward. Sources continued to cite new imports, and Chinese tons in particular, for the move.
Prills were put at $330-$335/st FOB, which was relatively firm compared to the granular erosion.
While sources have been talking about a recent influx of imports, the DOC reported that imports for June were off 48 percent, to 114,132 st from the year-ago 219,956. For the fertilizer year ending in June, however, they were up 23 percent, to 8.13 million st from the prior year 6.62 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea remained at $335-$355/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low FOB Cincinnati, Ohio.
Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market had reportedly slipped to $345-$355/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt. Sources reported no new business to test the market, however, and also minimal interest.
Southern Plains: Granular urea pricing was pegged at $345-$350/st FOB out of the Tulsa, Okla., market, while Houston pricing had reportedly slipped to $375/st FOB.
South Central: Sources reported good crop conditions in the South Central region in mid-August, although some areas were dealing with too much moisture. One of those locations was southern Mississippi, which was hit with torrential rains and flash flooding on Aug. 13.
The corn harvest was underway in Louisiana, with exceptional yields reported. One source said irrigated fields there were bringing more than 200 bushels/acre, while non-irrigated crops were in excess of 150 bushels/acre.
Corn in other parts of the South Central region was equally impressive. USDA placed fully 87-88 percent of the corn acreage in Kentucky and Tennessee in the good or excellent categories last week, along with 83-87 percent of the soybeans.
Sources pegged the granular urea market last week at $350-$360/st FOB regional warehouses, with most locations at the bottom end of that range. The plentiful precipitation had reportedly spurred some movement of urea and ammonium nitrate on pastures in the region, but activity was limited.
Southeast: Southeast growers were taking advantage of a limited window of dry weather to begin the region’s corn harvest, with good early yields reported.
The wet summer has caused spotty crop quality issues in the region, particularly in fields with low spots. On the whole, however, crop conditions were very good.
The granular urea market continued to be quoted as high as $405-$415/st FOB port terminals in the Southeast. Sources acknowledged that those prices were high compared to other regions and a softening NOLA barge market, but that strength was attributed to tight supply and good demand that extended beyond the traditional spring application window.
Regional sources reported minimal buying activity to test the market, however. “People are focused on getting rid of what they have,” said one source.
Black Sea: With little to no activity taking place in Europe, Asia, Australia, or the Americas, sources say the paper market is plummeting.
Traders are saying the Yuzhnyy market is in the upper $280s/mt FOB. They are quick to point out, however, that the last real deal that involved actually moving a cargo was just under $310/mt FOB.
Sources say Yuzhnyy material is under pressure not only because of competition from China and Iran into areas east of Suez, but also because shipments out of Egypt are once again moving.
And then there is just a general lack of buying interest in many markets. Things might pick u
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: The ammonia markets remained quiet.
NYMEX natural gas closed Aug. 15 at $3.419/mmBtu, up from Aug. 8’s $3.297/mmBtu.
June anhydrous ammonia imports were down 6 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, dropping to 536,428 st from the year-ago 570,854 st. July-June imports were up 1 percent, to 7.18 million st from 7.1 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Cooler-than-normal weather continued in the Eastern Cornbelt in mid-August, and combined with adequate moisture to create very favorable crop conditions.
Sources reported no activity on the fertilizer front, and spot prices remained flat to soft. Although most expect a brisk fall application season in the region, sources say there is little incentive to buy due to low grain prices and falling fertilizer prices.
“I don’t know anything out there that doesn’t look weak right now,” said one regional contact. “We may have found the bottom for some products, but who knows?”
Ammonia pricing remained at $540-$560/st FOB in Illinois, with the Indiana market $10/st higher.
Western Cornbelt: Sources continued to report the anhydrous ammonia market at $510-$525/st FOB in Nebraska, $525-$540/st FOB in Iowa, and up to $550/st FOB in the Missouri market.
Missouri was still recovering from torrential rains and flooding earlier in August, while the rest of the Western Cornbelt experienced unseasonably cool weather at mid-month. “What we really need now is warmer weather,” said one contact. “We need some warm days to finish off the corn, but overall crops look good.”
Southern Plains: Kansas and Oklahoma sources reported wet field conditions in many locations after several weeks of heavy precipitation.
One Kansas contact said parts of his trade area collected 25 inches of rain in three weeks. As a result, he said upland corn and soybean crops look exceptional. The effects of lingering drought were still evident in many of the region’s other crops, however.
Sources noted that the region was on the cusp of the preplant wheat push. According to one Kansas source, however, the wet weather has tightened the window for preplant ammonia applications. “We’re seeing customers opt out of ammonia applications to consider alternative N sources for their wheat,” he reported.
The anhydrous ammonia market had reportedly slipped to $460-$490/st FOB regional production points, depending on location, with the market out of pipeline terminals in Kansas pegged in the $510-$520/st FOB range.
Middle East: Arab producers continue to hold out for $410/mt FOB and higher – and continue to get rebuffed.
The latest example was a FACT award to an Iranian supplier in the low $450s/mt CFR. Sources report that Sabic offered at $470/mt CFR. The netback for the Sabic material is pegged at $410-$415/mt FOB.
Sources say, however, that no one is willing to pay above $405/mt FOB. Discussions for new tons actually start closer to $390/mt FOB, but so far no one has concluded any business below $400/mt FOB.
Industry watchers place the regional market at $400-$405/mt FOB.
India: FACT continues to find bargains in its ammonia buying campaign.
The latest deal, a couple of weeks ago, came from Iran at $450/mt CFR. Sources say that shipping the 6,000-7,000 mt tonnage – while small – is still dicey. Vessels carrying any Iranian material have a problem getting insurance from the usual sources, thanks to the economic embargo placed on Iran by the U.S. and European countries.
The most recent Indian urea tenders have specified that the seller has to provide the insurance for any Iranian material. For all o
Doral, Fla. — BioNitrogen Holdings Corp., which plans to build biomass-to-urea plants in Florida and Louisiana, said Aug. 15 that it has signed an agreement with the Casale Group of Switzerland to employ its ammonia and urea plant technology for BioNitrogen’s first plant in Hardee County, Fla. It said Casale has either built or refurbished over 400 ammonia and urea plants worldwide. “Employing Casale’s technology and existing designs will allow us to increase the plant’s production capacity from 360 st/d to 520 st/d, thereby improving the plant’s economics significantly," said Bryan Kornegay Jr., BioNitrogen president and CFO. “The technology will reduce both the investment per ton of production and the engineering time. We have partnered with Casale because it is the only company with such extensive in-house experience, expertise, and technology in combined ammonia and urea plant technology, process, and equipment design.” The company expects the addition of Casale will accelerate completion of the engineering. The CCC Group will construct the plant, and AMEC will manage the engineering.
Walnut Creek, Calif. — Central Garden and Pet (CG&P) reported a 40 percent drop in net income attributable to the company of $13.7 million ($0.28 per diluted share) on sales of $494.1 million, down from the year-ago $22.7 million ($0.47 per share) on sales of $533.8 million. Third-quarter operating income in the Garden segment was down 41 percent, to $13.7 million from the year-ago $22.6 million. Operating margins declined due to lower profitability in fertilizer, controls, and décor, due in part to higher promotion and marketing expenses. Garden sales were down 2 percent to $256.3 million, due in part to lower sales of controls. In the prior year quarter, fertilizers and controls benefitted from delayed shipments. The Garden segments-branded product sales decreased $5.8 million, or 3 percent, to $215.5 million, while sales of other manufacturers’ products decreased $400,000 to $40.8 million, a decrease of 1 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. CG&P nine-month net income was $20.6 million ($0.42 per share) on sales of $1.28 billion, down from the year-ago $31.2 million ($0.65 per share) on sales of $1.3 billion.
Toronto — Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund reported net earnings of $10 million ($0.19 per diluted unit) on revenues of $217.5 million for the second quarter ending June 30, compared to the year-ago $8.5 million ($0.16 per share) on sales of $227.6 million. Chemtrade said the income increase was primarily due to an income tax recovery during the quarter, compared to an income tax expense during the year-ago quarter. Revenues were down due to lower revenues in the International segment, where sales were down to $49 million from $63.1 million, with the company citing lower sulfur volumes and prices. Chemtrade said North American sales volumes for most of its products in 2013 have been up, including sulfuric acid. Six-month earnings were $14.3 million ($0.34 per unit) on sales of $427.6 million, versus the year-ago $12.7 million ($0.31 per unit) on sales of $455.4 million.
Amman — Arab Potash Corp. (APC) reported an increase in revenues and a decline in net profits in the second quarter. APC said revenues totaled $236.8 million versus the year-ago $224.84 million, while net profits fell to $74.9 million versus $92.1 million. The second-quarter average potash price was $403/mt, down from the year-ago $471/mt. Potash production totaled 510,000 mt versus 403,000 mt, while sales volumes were 586,000 mt compared to the year-ago 496,000 mt. APC attributed the rise to increased sales to India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, which more than offset the decline in shipments to China. APC also reported sales of 35,100 mt of potassium nitrate and dicalcium phosphate during the second quarter.
Kassel — K+S Group reported a 25.7 percent drop in operating income (EBIT – earnings before interest and taxes) for the second quarter ending June 30, 2013, to €162.6 million on revenues of €874.5 million, versus the year-ago €218.7 million and €996.5 million, respectively. EBIT for the Potash/Magnesium segment was off 24.2 percent to €182 million on revenues of €548.3 million, down from the year-ago €240 million and €669.5 million, respectively. Salt EBIT was also down, but by only 16.4 percent. K+S reiterated its earlier announcement (GM Aug. 12, p. 13) that it was pulling back on earlier guidance that 2013 EBIT would slightly increase over 2012’s E804.1 million. K+S said that while the company expects increased earnings from its Salt business, it is not expected to be sufficient to compensate for a decrease in Potash/Magnesium. K+S also reiterated that it plans to move ahead with its Legacy Potash mine in Saskatchewan. Six-month K+S EBIT was down 5.6 percent, to €440.5 million on revenues of €2.15 billion, versus the year-ago €466.4 million and €2.08 billion. Potash/Magnesium EBIT was off 12.6 percent to €391.2 million on revenues of €1.17 billion, versus the year-ago €447.7 million and €1.25 billion, respectively.
Tampa — For the second time in a week, a fire erupted at a sulfur storage tank at the Port of Tampa Aug. 13. No serious injuries were reported. The tank was in the process of being emptied to prepare it for maintenance. The tank was owned by Gulf Sulfur Services (GSS) and the sulfur was the property of The Mosaic Co., which uses the facility prior to shipment to its phosphate processing plants in the Central Florida area. Although fire officials had not established an exact cause of the fires, a company official said he believed it was the result of rust that fell into the heated sulfur and caused reactions. He added precautions were being taken to avoid a similar incident. At the time, the sulfur was being heated so that the tank could be emptied. GSS delayed calling the Tampa Fire Department for about an hour after the blaze began while it put its in-house plan into action. Although fire officials said they notified nearby residents of the situation, at least one said he had been told of the first fire, but not the second.
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