All Posts from February 6, 2012

Phosphates

Central Florida, Di-Ammonium Phosphate, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Middle East, Mono-Ammonium Phosphate, Pakistan, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Exports, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

Central Florida: In Central Florida, it was the lull before, well, the next lull. After a flurry of activity at the beginning of the year, orders for prompt shipments of phosphate tapered down to virtually nothing. According to sources, that will probably not change until late in February or even March – at least not significantly.

The market remained out of balance, with prices on the Gulf’s river system some $40-$50/st lower than from Central Florida, while Central Florida should actually be lower by around $25/st FOB.

Mosaic’s cutback in production has had no impact on prices, because no one was buying anyway. Even the export market has been slow in recent weeks.

The cost of raw materials declined after recent negotiations for both molten sulfur and ammonia were concluded. Last week, sulfur fell from $220/lt to $172/lt, a drop of $48/lt, and ammonia was settled two weeks ago at $472/mt.

The Central Florida DAP price range continued unchanged last week at a flat $480/st FOB. Both Mosaic and CF were posted at the $480/st FOB mark. MAP was listed at a $20/st premium to DAP by Mosaic in Central Florida – about the same difference as from traders – and remained in short supply.

PCS Sales was selling at prices comparable to the market.

U.S. Gulf: Unusually warm weather occupied January, and the odds for an early spring were favorable as February rolled around last week.

However, there was a problem with moisture. Some areas were getting way too much and others were getting essentially none. It has been dry in the Western Cornbelt, but very wet in parts of the Eastern Cornbelt.

Where a lack of precipitation has been the rule farmers have been able to get their fields prepared, but the ground was too soft in some areas of the east to get any work done. Iowa, which has had only about a half-inch of rain since August, will need some relief if they are to get the bumper crops they desire this year. The Eastern Cornbelt, by contrast, just needs to dry out.

The other area that has been dry is the NOLA phosphate barge market. Dealers still have product left over from the fall, and don’t want to take the chance of buying now and regretting it later if prices go down. Mosaic moved product into position earlier, so it should be ready when the expected rush begins. However, no one was sure when that will be, and few others have followed suit, at least not to the same degree.

Prices for corn futures moved up again last week compared to the previous week, rising from $5.70/bushel to $5.7675/bushel for December 2012. The corn price for December 2013 was $5.625/bushel, up from $5.58/bushel the previous reporting period. Soybeans for November 2012 slipped slightly at $12.225/bushel from $12.27/bushel the previous week. Soybeans for November 2013 were up a little, to $12.0325/bushel from $12.02/bushel the previous week. Wheat for July 2012 rose to $6.975 from $6.805/bushel previously. Wheat for July 2013 was listed at $7.53/bushel last week, up from $7.425/bushel a week earlier.

Not a lot of NOLA DAP or MAP barges were available, and there were even fewer buyers. Not surprisingly, prices were soft and drifting south last week.

The NOLA DAP barge price range was quoted at $433-$440/st FOB based on the few transactions reported, compared with $433-$446/st FOB the previous week. MAP was fetching a better price at more than $35/st FOB over the price of DAP, although there was a lack of activity.

Eastern Cornbelt: DAP remained at $510-$530/st FOB regional warehouses, with MAP pegged in the $530-$550/st FOB range. The 10-34-0 market in the Eastern Cornbelt was pegged at $700-$725/st FOB in early February, down slightly from last report.

Western Cornbelt: The DAP market was pegged at $515-$5

Court rules against DSW over road damage

Israel, News, News Briefs, Potash Muriate

Tel Aviv — Israel’s National Roads Co. has won a court case against Dead Sea Works (DSW) for damages to the main highway from its plant at Sdom to the southern port of Eilat. The state-owned company charged DSW with exceeding the weight restrictions for transporting potash along the Arava highway to Eilat. The complaint stated that DSW did not properly cover its trucks and transported potash above the acceptable limits, leading to potash and other chemicals being discharged along the length of the highway. The Israel National Roads Co. was awarded $14 million in damages for repairs to the road. DSW argued the potash was properly packed in accordance with international standards, and that the highway itself had not been properly maintained over the years. The judge said in his ruling that it had been proven without a doubt that the potash was improperly packed and exceeded the level as designated by regulations.

Study aims at less fertilizer to grow maize

Midwest, News, News Briefs

St. Louis — The National Science Foundation has awarded $1.3 million to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to perform research on reducing the amount of fertilizer required to grow maize, the most widely adopted crop on the planet. “The grant addresses issues critical for agriculture, the environment, and human health, and will further our understanding of how soil conditions affect the elemental composition of maize,” said Ivan Baxter, USDA research scientist and assistant member of the Danforth Center. Baxter told Green Markets that his long-term goal is to make the agriculture of maize less intensive. “We’re figuring out how plants adapt and grow in different soil environments,” added Baxter. He also wants to produce a more nutritious crop that can grow in more environments while using less fertilizer, thereby preserving the environment. “The lab at the Danforth Center can rapidly analyze large genetic populations of the diverse staple crop with the statistically powerful resource of Nested Association Mapping (NAS),” said Baxter. Put simply, NAS is a technique used for identifying and studying the genetic structure of maize. As a part of the project, educational resources will be developed to assist high school teachers in incorporating bioinformatics and plant molecular biology into their curriculum. It also includes a mentoring program whereby student and teacher internships will be sponsored in St. Louis, Mo., St. Paul, Minn., and Ithaca, N.Y.

Military seeks ways to negate AN explosiveness

Ammonium Nitrate, News

The U.S. Joint Improvised Explosives Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) has issued an announcement seeking proposals on how to fight buried improvised explosive devices (IED) and person- and vehicle-borne IEDs employed against U.S. or coalition forces anywhere in the world, but particularly in Afghanistan. JIEDDO notes that the manufacture and transport of homemade explosives (HME) and their precursor chemicals, which include ammonium nitrate, enables these IEDs.

JIEDDO is seeking focused, short-term (3-6 month) studies that will define the signatures and available observables for these various IEDs and HMEs, as well as aid in the development of capabilities to counter these threats. Proposals must address one of the following requirements:

A. New formulations of ammonium nitrate-based fertilizer that decrease detonability and explosive output.
B. Additives and methods to disrupt or discourage HME manufacturing from fertilizer precursors.
C. Additives and methods for increased detection and identification of HMEs and precursors during transport, manufacture, and IED emplacement.
D. Enabling ground truth studies.

JIEDDO says reformulating existing AN-based fertilizers is a straightforward method to reduce HME effectiveness. However, it says reformulation is a non-trivial challenge, because a variety of requirements must be met to preserve the safety and effectiveness for agricultural use. New formulations must: not be toxic to flora or fauna; provide nearly the same agronomic value as existing fertilizer formulations; and not be easily separable such that HME manufacture is simplified or promoted.

JIEDDO said reformulation methodologies should also consider the regional availability of raw materials. To date, JIEDDO has been very concerned about explosives in Afghanistan originating from AN produced in Pakistan.

In the near term, JIEDDO said new fertilizer formulations may consist of AN-inclusive mixtures, altered prill processing, AN layering techniques, or development of AN desensitizers. In the long-term, novel formulations that reduce region-specific dependence of AN-based fertilizers will be considered. Solutions involving the development of renewable or microbial-based fertilizers and methods of increasing the regional availability of biomass will also be considered. It said regardless of the method, an assessment of agronomic trade-offs must be clearly stated (e.g., reduced explosive effectiveness due to lower nitrate content and a subsequent decrease in unit cost to the end-user to offset the need for more fertilizer).

During Phase I, JIEDDO will evaluate proposal quad charts and white papers. Phase 2 will consist of technical meetings and more detailed presentations and submissions.

Proposals are due by 1600 hours March 2, 2012, Eastern Standard Time. The research number is BAA JIEDDO-12-01-HME. Classified proposals shall be delivered to Joint IED Defeat Organization, 2521 South Clarke St., 12th Floor, Attn: CAC/TDD (BIDS), Arlington, Va. 22202. For more information, contact https://www.jieddo.dod.mil/rr.aspx. Contractors must also register in the Department of Defense database; see http:www.ccr.gov, or call 1-888-227-2423.

Ammonia

Ammonia, Black Sea, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Middle East, Southeast, Southern Plains, Tampa, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf/Tampa: With Tampa concluded at $472/mt DEL for February, some were looking to NOLA for movement. While there has been speculation in recent weeks that the long-stagnant NOLA market would finally move, finding bona fide spot barge business remains a problem. Again, Green Markets is revisiting putting a Not Available for the NOLA price, or eliminating the category altogether. If no business is forthcoming soon, expect an NA to this very thinly traded market.

Natural gas prices have been bouncing around during the past month, though remaining well below the $3.00/mmBtu mark. Just a few weeks ago prices dropped to historic lows into the $2.30s/mmBtu, to close up for February at $2.678/mmBtu on Jan. 27. Sources attributed that bump to an announcement by major independent gas producers that they would cut production.

Prices again began falling, with sources citing the abnormally warm winter in many major gas-using parts of the country, as well as a huge overhang in storage. However, on Feb. 2, March prices closed up about 17 cents from Feb. 1 to $2.554/mmBtu, with sources saying more gas was taken out of storage than was expected.

Eastern Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $650-$670/st FOB Eastern Cornbelt terminals. Much of the region saw another week of unseasonably mild weather as January gave way to February. For many areas, field conditions were still too soft to support spreaders, but dealers were optimistic that the application pace will pick up soon.

Western Cornbelt: Sources continued to quote the prompt ammonia market in the $600-$645/st FOB range in the Western Cornbelt, with the upper end in Missouri and the low reported out of terminals in both Nebraska and Iowa on a spot basis.

Dealers continued to report steady movement of ammonia and dries to the field in parts of the region. “By the time spring planting comes around, if these guys don’t have all their fertilizer done it’s not because they didn’t have the weather for it,” said one Nebraska contact.

Not all areas were rolling last week, however. Field conditions remained wet in parts of southern Missouri, where one contact said aerial topdress applications were taking place on winter wheat in early February. “If it was dry, we’d be moving a lot of ground rigs,” said one source.

Southern Plains: Sources pegged the anhydrous ammonia market at $580-$585/st FOB Southern Plains production points on the low end, with dealer pricing out of Kansas pipeline terminals quoted in the $610-$620/st FOB range for prompt tons.

Mild January weather fostered steady fieldwork and brisk ammonia movement on corn ground in parts of the region. Several Kansas sources reported heavy movement in their trade areas again last week, capping what one source said was a January unlike any he had ever experienced in his trade area.

“We’re doing what we should be doing in March,” reported another Kansas contact, who said ammonia, phosphates, and potash were moving heavily on corn ground.
South Central: The prepay ammonia market remained at the $655/st level FOB Memphis, Tenn.

Middle East: Some spot business was finally secured from the area, and the prices are not to the liking of the producers. Sources report an Indian purchase of 15,000 mt from Sabic at $377.50/mt CFR. Industry watchers estimate the netback at $310/mt FOB.

The recent business confirms a slide in prices that began in early January, when Sabic reportedly settled a deal with a U.S. buyer for an estimated netback of $395/mt FOB. At the time, sources in Asia were reluctant to believe the dramatic drop of almost $100/mt. Now, however, with the global ammonia market softening, a drop into the low $300s/mt FOB is immediately accept

Urea

Bangladesh, Black Sea, Brazil, Eastern Cornbelt, Indonesia, Market Watch, Middle East, Pakistan, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Gulf, Urea, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: Prompt granular barge prices again worked their way up last week, only to peak and fall once again. Sources put early week trades as low as $391-$394/st FOB, and said they moved up to $400/st FOB and then on to $405-$407/st FOB before again beginning to crater.

Some had been hoping for $410/st FOB. By late Thursday, however, many said prices had fallen back to $400/st FOB, with the expectation that the next trades could again be $395/st FOB.

Almost each week it seems that a flush of demand at lower prices soon meets resistance, and if sellers want to make a sale they have to go back to the lower numbers.

No one was predicting much business for the TFI meeting Feb. 5-8, where players expect traditional tire kicking and price chatter. One observer said it may be March 1 before buyers truly feel they have to buy, adding that at that point, they will have to take what is here or what is certainly on the way, as it might be too late to order in a cargo from offshore.

Others, however, predict that a rather large amount of imports will be coming to NOLA in February, which should leave buyers in good stead if they still need to buy March 1. Still other sources predict that rice acreage will be down this year in favor of corn and soybeans, meaning less need for urea during the often discussed “rice season” at the tail end of annual fertilizer movement.

In the meantime, sources say prills continue to garner a premium, with $412/st FOB cited as the last done business. Sellers have reportedly been quoting $415-$420/st FOB for the next round of business.

Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing in the Eastern Cornbelt region was steady at $445-$450/st FOB in early February.

Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market in the Western Cornbelt was pegged at $435-$445/st FOB, down slightly from the previous week.

Southern Plains: Granular urea pricing was reported at $425-$435/st FOB the Tulsa market to the dealer, indicating a slight drop from last report. Some sources talked of firming prices as the week advanced, however, with some quoting the Enid, Okla., market at the $440/st FOB level on Feb. 2.

South Central: The granular urea market in the South Central region was pegged at $430-$435/st FOB terminals at midweek, but some suppliers said they were planning to move that market up by $5-$10/st in the near term.

Sources reported some movement of urea and ammonium sulfate on winter wheat in the region, as well as phosphate and potash movement on pasture ground. Sources also reported some forestry applications of urea taking place in eastern Texas last week.

Southeast: Granular urea pricing was pegged solidly at the $440/st level FOB port terminals in the Southeast region, with reports of some suppliers referencing the $450/st FOB mark on the upper end.

Indonesia: Pusri scrapped the granular tender that closed Jan. 27 because the bids did not meet the lowest acceptable price. Pusri wanted $420/mt FOB, but the highest bid came in at $405/mt FOB.

A tally of the tender follows.

Nitrogen Solutions

Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Gulf, UAN, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: Sources last week called UAN either quiet or soft. As a result, prices were put in the $260-$270/st ($8.12-$8.44/unit) FOB range, if not lower.

Eastern Cornbelt: UAN pricing was unchanged at $10.50-$10.89/unit FOB and $10.78-$11.09/unit rail-DEL in the Eastern Cornbelt region.

Western Cornbelt: UAN-32 pricing in the Western Cornbelt had reportedly slipped to $335-$345/st ($10.47-$10.78/unit) range FOB regional terminals last week, with the low reported in southern Missouri. An Iowa contact pegged the common dealer price at the $10.60/unit FOB mark, while spot pricing in the Nebraska market was pegged at the $345/st ($10.78/unit) FOB level for prompt tons.

Southern Plains: UAN-32 pricing was down slightly in the Southern Plains region, with dealer pricing out of regional production points quoted in the $335-$340/st ($10.47-$10.63/unit) FOB range at midweek.

South Central: UAN-32 pricing out of terminals in the South Central region had reportedly slipped from last report to a broad range of $310-$335/st ($9.69-$10.47/unit) FOB, depending on location. The low was reported FOB Memphis, with the upper end in the Arkansas market. UAN-32 out of terminals in Louisiana was quoted at the $315/st ($9.84/unit) FOB mark at midweek.

Southeast: UAN pricing continued to slip in the Southeast region. Sources quoted the UAN-30 market at $280-$285/st ($9.33-$9.50/unit) FOB Norfolk, Va., and Wilmington, N.C., with UAN-32 quoted at the $315/st ($9.84/unit) level FOB Chesapeake, Va. Georgia contacts pegged the UAN-32 market in the $300-$305/st ($9.38-$9.53/unit) FOB range out of inland terminals in late January.

Ammonium Nitrate

Ammonium Nitrate, Market Watch, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: The market was firmly called $340/st FOB.

Western Cornbelt: The ammonium nitrate market was tagged at $395-$400/st FOB in the region, with the upper end quoted in the Iowa market and the low in Missouri on a spot basis.

Southern Plains: Ammonium nitrate pricing was unchanged at $390-$400/st FOB in the Southern Plains region, with the low end reported out of the Tulsa market.

South Central: Ammonium nitrate was quoted at $370-$380/st FOB in the South Central region, with the low FOB Memphis.

Southeast: The ammonium nitrate market was steady at $390-$395/st FOB Tampa, and $400/st rail-DEL in the Carolinas.

Ammonium Sulfate

Ammonium Sulfate, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Southeast, Southern Plains, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was quoted at $375-$385/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt.

Western Cornbelt: The granular ammonium sulfate market remained at $370-$385/st FOB in the region. Iowa sources quoted the ammonium thiosulfate market at roughly $350/st FOB to the dealer.

Southern Plains: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $315-$355/st FOB Texas shipping points, with the low FOB Freeport and the upper end FOB Littlefield and Plainview.

South Central: The granular ammonium sulfate market was pegged at $345-$355/st FOB regional terminals to the dealer, with the low end FOB Memphis. Ammonium thiosulfate was reported at $335/st FOB in Louisiana.

Southeast: Granular ammonium sulfate was unchanged at $305-$315/st FOB and $320-$340/st DEL in the Southeast region, depending on location.

New rail link would benefit ICL

Israel, News, News Briefs

Tel Aviv — The Israeli government is expected to approve in the coming weeks a plan to build a rail line from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. The link is designed to create a new route for Europe-to-Asia trade that would circumvent the Suez Canal. The cost of the project is put at $1.5-$2 billion, and it is expected to take four years to complete once the government gives the go ahead. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the proposed line "would create a junction between continents." The link would be extremely significant to Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL), which is currently the largest user of the Eilat port. ICL ships potash, fertilizers, phosphate, and industrial chemicals to China, India, and other Far East markets. The company ships some 2.5 million mt of potash and other chemicals via the Eilat port. The importance of the port has continued to grow in recent years as sales to the Far East increase in importance, as ICL accounts for nearly 20 percent of the port’s revenues. At present, ICL subsidiary Mifaeli Tovala ships from its plants in southern Israel by truck to the port. Industry officials say that a rail line will be a substantial savings for ICL in shipping costs to the southern port, and could contribute substantially to its profits. The increasing importance of the Chinese and Indian markets make the rail line a high priority for the company. Israel’s Transport Ministry has expressed a preference for the 350 kilometer-long line to be handed by Chinese government contractors. Israeli Transport Minister Yitzhak Katz noted that the Chinese capabilities in the field of rail construction and transport networks are among the best in the world. Katz met with Chinese officials last September in Beijing and agreed on a joint proposal for the project. The proposed rail line would be electrified and run from Ashdod on Israel’s Mediterranean coast to Eilat. At the time, the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the main segment from Nahal Zin to Eilat, a distance of 180 kilometers. Nahal Zin is the location of one of the country’s largest phosphate mine.

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Company US$/mt FOB
Samsung 405.00
Ameropa 404.75
Dreymoor 402.50
Toepfer 401.50
Brio 399.00
Helm 398.00