Ameropa came in with the lowest price in the first of three Trading Corp, of Pakistan urea tenders that indicates a Chinese netback in the mid-$270s/mt FOB. All told, 700,000 mt were offered in the 50,000 mt tender by 14 trading houses, indicating there appears to be plenty of urea available.
The Ameropa price of $294.71/mt CFR was closely followed by three other offers under $300/mt CFR. The highest offer came from Keytrade at $309.94/mt CFR, for a China netback of about $280/mt FOB.
The low price is only $6/mt higher than the last tender price for India’s west coast. Sources have said a price difference of $5-$10/mt between the Indian and Pakistan price is not unusual.
For Pakistan, the price is considered a win. The last TCP tender came in at $318/mt CFR.
While the availability of material does not seem to be the issue, the price for the product does. Traders say the $276/mt FOB netback from China on the Ameropa offer may not be available much longer. Chinese producers have been pushing for higher prices in recent weeks.
Additional tenders close Aug. 18 and 20.