Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was tagged at $375-$385/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt region, down slightly from last report. The ammonium thiosulfate market remained at $355-$360/st FOB.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate pricing continued to slide in the Western Cornbelt region. Sources quoted the dealer market at $350-$360/st FOB last week, down some $5-$15/st from last report.
The ammonium thiosulfate market remained at $325-$360/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location.
Southern Plains: American Plant Food Corp.’s granular ammonium sulfate postings out of Texas terminals are slated to drop some $80/st on July 8, moving to $250/st FOB Freeport, $260/st FOB Galena Park, $275/st FOB Fort Worth, and $285/st FOB Littlefield. Coarse grade postings are $10/st less than granular at each location, while standard ammonium sulfate postings will move on July 8 to $230/st FOB Freeport and $265/st FOB Littlefield. APF’s N-Pac Compacted posting will move on July 8 to $265/st FOB Galena Park.
South Central: Granular ammonium sulfate pricing remained at $340-$350/st FOB regional terminals. The ammonium thiosulfate market was unchanged as well at $335-$340/st FOB in the South Central region.
APF’s granular ammonium sulfate posting FOB Mermentau, La., will drop to $275/st FOB on July 8, down $80/st from the previous list price at that location.
Southeast: The granular ammonium sulfate market remained at $360-$375/st FOB and $380-$395/st DEL in the Southeast, depending on location.
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.
Chesapeake, Va. — Yara International ASA has added a new 7,300 mt storage terminal here dedicated to diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). Yara says the new site will allow it to maximize its import strength and competitive advantage. It is also a strategic location for Yara’s East Coast development as it allows Yara to tap into the heavily traveled and heavily populated area, including the truck traffic on Interstate 95, which stretches from Maine to Florida.
Oklahoma City — LSB Industries Inc. said July 1 that its El Dorado Nitrogen LP (EDNLP) subsidiary has signed a seven-year extension with Bayer MaterialScience LLC to supply Bayer with its requirement of nitric acid. This agreement amends the previous agreement. Under the extended agreement, which is effective as of July 1, 2014, EDNLP continues to charge Bayer for nitric acid on a cost-plus basis. “EDNLP has enjoyed a mutually beneficial working relationship with Bayer since 1998, and we look forward to continuing this relationship under the new extended agreement,” said Jack Golsen, LSB chairman and CEO.
Washington — Pres. Obama’s plan to address global climate change through new carbon dioxide emission controls on new and existing power plants drew a range of responses from the chemical and fertilizer industries. Obama outlined his proposals in a June 25 speech at Georgetown University, noting that none of the measures in his plan require congressional action and can instead be accomplished through federal regulations. Critics of the plan denounced it as a job-killing “war on coal,” and both The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) and the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) expressed concern about rising natural gas prices due to increased demand. “As has been the case in the past, we are concerned about fuel switching that might occur when power plants are forced to use natural gas,” TFI’s Kathy Mathers told Green Markets. “That could cause a rise in the price we pay for natural gas/energy prices as a result of the limits on power plants, which would force them to switch to natural gas. At a time when the U.S. is experiencing a manufacturing renaissance, the president’s plan has the potential to impact that positive development by causing natural gas prices to rise.” ARA said that while it supports efforts to promote renewable energy such as wind, solar power, and biofuels, it also supports an “all of the above” approach when it comes to making the U.S. more energy independent. “Federal policies that promote the building of more natural gas power plant facilities in the U.S. and natural-gas vehicles, while limiting the use of other energy sources such as coal, could diminish or limit supplies for natural gas for use by the domestic fertilizer industry,” ARA’s Richard Gupton told Green Markets. “If President Obama’s new coal policies are put in place that decrease demand for coal in the U.S., the U.S. coal industry will continue to increase exports to counties such as China.”
Medicine Hat and Carseland — CF Industries Holdings Inc. reported July 1 that it was in the process of restarting operating units at its Medicine Hat, Alberta, nitrogen complex. The company had shut down production at the complex as a precautionary measure June 23. Although the site on which the complex is located is approximately 200 feet above the normal river level, the pump house containing equipment used to draw river water for plant operations is near the river bank. The pump house equipment that had been relocated to higher ground prior to the flooding has been reinstalled and is back in service. Agrium Inc. also confirmed last week that it has successfully brought its Carseland nitrogen complex back up after a few weeks offline for repairs. Industry observers, noting the waning fertilizer season, said it was an opportune time to have an outage.
Orica Ltd. has announced that Noel Meehan, executive director, finance, will leave the company Oct. 31, 2013. Craig Elkington, currently executive head, mining services, will take on the CFO title Nov. 1. Meehan had been with Orica since 1999 and CFO since 2005.
Elkington joined Orica in 1994 and has held numerous positions. A global search is underway to replace Elkington as executive global head, mining services.
Mar Vista Resources LLC, Corcoran, Calif., a micronutrient and specialty fertilizer manufacturer, has named Jay Irvine as its CEO. He was most recently vice president of sales U.S. and Australia for FBSciences. He also worked as vice president of marketing at Monterey AgResources. With 22 years of experience in the fertilizer and crop protection business, Mar Vista says he has a proven track record of increasing company revenues and market share.
Irvine will be in charge of managing and growing Mar Vista’s manufacturing and distribution business. Mar Vista has focused primarily on agricultural markets in the past; Irvine will spearhead a drive to expand the company’s efforts into the feed and industrial markets.
Irvine has a B.S. in Ag Business Marketing from Fresno State University.
Tampa: Preliminary discussions were underway last week, rather than actual negotiations, but it was clear the price will come down.
The world market was in a seeming tailspin, although the situation in the U.S. was much more stable. Still, the world market will have a strong influence on negotiations for molten sulfur delivered to Tampa, and the Tampa price works as a benchmark for other U.S. markets.
The speculation several weeks ago was that the Tampa price would fall $15-$25/lt. One source last week, who is on the supply side, said it could fall by as much as $50/lt. Phosphate producers will be careful not to allow prices to fall so low that supplies will be blocked at Canada and possibly other facilities that have storage room, however.
Because of the July 4 holiday and the early publishing date for Green Markets, information on refinery operating capacity rates was not available from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The second-quarter price was $155/lt delivered to Tampa.
U.S. Gulf: The U.S. Gulf price range was $80-$110/mt FOB.
Vancouver: The spot price for sulfur from Vancouver continued to fall last week, down to the $75-$100/mt FOB range. China was offering only $80-$100/mt CFR, which held back shipments from Vancouver and also suppressed the price.
One of the reasons China dropped its price, according to one source, was that it has been making a lot of purchases of crushed sulfur from Russia, which was cheaper than other forms of sulfur. The Russian product has problems, however, one of which is excessive dust.
The announcement by Imperial Oil that it was shutting down its refinery at Nova Scotia will have little or no impact on sulfur supplies because very little sulfur comes from the facility. It will continue as a terminal for Imperial, however.
West Coast: Sulfur prices on the West Coast were in the $78-$103/mt FOB range.
Benelux: The price range for the second quarter was $175-$185/mt, but that range was expected to fall about $30/mt for the third quarter.
ADNOC: The ADNOC price for June was $140/mt FOB. Sources said recent prices in the Arab Gulf region were in the sub-$100/mt FOB range, however, and Qatar was at $100/mt FOB last week. The posted price will undoubtedly fall.
U.S. Gulf: Potash barges continued to be called within the $390-$405/st FOB range.
Eastern Cornbelt: Potash pricing was steady at $445-$455/st FOB regional warehouses in the Eastern Cornbelt.
Western Cornbelt: The regional potash market was quoted in the $440-$455/st FOB range in early July, with the low in southern Missouri and the upper end in the Iowa market.
Southern Plains: Potash pricing was tagged at $440-$445/st FOB out of regional warehouses in the Southern Plains. Granular pricing FOB Carlsbad, N.M., remained at a nominal $460-$465/st FOB, but sources reported no new business to test that range.
South Central: Sources pegged the potash market at $435-$440/st FOB out of most warehouses in the South Central region.
Southeast: Granular potash remained at the $440/st mark FOB regional warehouses on the low end, with rail-delivered potash business in the Southeast reported at the $450/st level, give or take.
Central Florida: Nothing really changed in the Central Florida market last week. The spring season was over, warehouses and terminals were quiet, and the July 4 holiday shortened the workweek. Many in the industry stretched the days off into a very long weekend.
The price range for the Central Florida DAP market remained at $435-$450/st FOB, with MAP barges bringing a $20/st premium over DAP.
U.S. Gulf: The Mississippi River remained at flood stage in some northern areas of the river system, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was closing locks at various intervals to keep the river operating.
Sources reported few new phosphate barge transactions in early July, and minimal business was reported out of terminals and warehouses.
The corn price for July was at $6.645/bushel last week, down from $6.6725/bushel a week earlier. Corn for December 2013 was also down, at $5.30/bushel compared with $5.385/bushel for the previous reporting period. Corn for December 2014 was $5.0125/bushel, down from $5.4975/bushel the previous week.
Soybeans for July were at $15.73/bushel last week, up from $15.485/bushel a week earlier, while soybeans for November 2013 moved up to $14.3575/bushel from the previous week’s $12.7525/bushel. Soybeans for November 2014 were also up at $12.4325/bushel, compared with $12.4225/bushel a week earlier.
Wheat for July 2013 decreased to $6.5075/bushel from the previous week’s $6.635/bushel, while wheat for September 2013 was listed at $6.575/bushel. The wheat price for July 2015 was posted at $7.02/bushel last week, down from $7.325/bushel a week earlier.
The NOLA DAP barge market was quoted at $420-$425/st FOB last week based on bids and offers, compared with $418-$427/s FOB the previous week.
MAP barges, which were less available than DAP, remained in the $440-$455/st FOB NOLA range, with the lowest price for Russian product and the higher end for domestic. MAP vessels coming during the next month or so from Morocco will likely depress the MAP price, sources said, possibly to below that of DAP.
Eastern Cornbelt: The DAP market was quoted in the $468-$480/st FOB range in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low in Cincinnati. MAP was $20/st higher than DAP.
10-34-0 remained at a nominal $525-$550/st FOB in the region.
Western Cornbelt: DAP pricing in the Western Cornbelt region remained at $460-$485/st FOB regional warehouses, depending on location, with MAP tagged in the $480-$500/st FOB range. The St. Louis DAP market was pegged at the $475/st FOB mark last week.
10-34-0 remained in a broad range at $450-$525/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location.
Southern Plains: The DAP market was quoted in the $455-$465/st range FOB the Tulsa market, down about $10-$15/st from last report. MAP pricing at the port was $20/st higher than DAP.
10-34-0 pricing in the Southern Plains was down as well, with sources quoting a $445-$465/st FOB range in the region in early July.
South Central: DAP was quoted at $475-$485/st FOB warehouses in the South Central region, with most dealer quotes in the $480-$485/st FOB range. TSP was pegged in the $435-$445/st FOB range out of regional warehouses, down some $5-$10/st from last report.
California: Effective July 1, Agrium’s MAP postings in California moved to $565/st FOB or rail-DEL, down $65/st from the company’s Feb. 8 reference price. Simplot also reposted its MAP price in California down to the $565/st rail-DEL level on July 1.
Also effective July 1, Simplot dropped its phosphoric acid postings to $9.00/unit rail-DEL for SPA and MGA in California, with the FOB price for MGA dropping to $9.20/unit in the state. Those levels were 50 cent
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.
