Price Changes of Urea, Ammonium Sulfate, Ammonium Phosphate, Triple Superphosphate, Potash Fertilizers, and Compound Fertilizers from December 01 - December 08.
Urea
As buyers returned to the market, the urea market reversed a two-month-long downward trend. The demand from importers and traders pushed urea prices higher.
Brazil and the United States: Prices for large granular urea in Brazil and the United States increased by $20/ton to CFR $350/ton. However, this is applicable only for prompt shipments, and importers remain cautious when purchasing goods for January.
China: Urea exports continued to decrease, coupled with a significant increase in shipping costs, leading to fewer transactions. After prices rose to the early-week levels, the market stagnated.
Egypt, South Asia, and Southeast Asia experienced a surge in urea trade, with increased imports in Europe and Southeast Asia.
Additionally, shipping costs continued to rise significantly this week, with the Atlantic/Baltic route experiencing the largest increase. Despite a reasonable level of trading activity this week, India's lower import demand and the continued cautious mindset of buyers seem likely to affect the January market.
Ammonium Sulfate
Northwest Europe: FOB prices for standard caprolactam-grade ammonium sulfate ranged from $183-$205/ton, while granular ammonium sulfate prices fell to FOB $248-$337/ton. Suppliers anticipate overall slow trade activities until the Christmas holiday.
China: FOB prices for standard ammonium sulfate dropped to $115-$125/ton this week. A producer sold 15,000 tons of granular ammonium sulfate at FOB $145-$150/ton for early January. The FOB price for squeezed granular ammonium sulfate stabilized at $140-$145/ton, according to the latest quotes from buyers and suppliers. An 8,000-10,000 ton transaction for squeezed granular ammonium sulfate was reported to be shipped to Brazil at an offshore price of $130/ton in December. However, demand for squeezed granular ammonium sulfate remains slow overall due to Brazilian importers staying away from the market.
Vietnam: An importer purchased 18,000 tons of MMA-grade ammonium sulfate at CFR $135/ton for shipment in December.
Brazil: A transaction for over 40,000 tons of squeezed granular ammonium sulfate from China is scheduled to arrive in January to meet the demand for genetically modified corn, with current quotes rising to CFR $180/ton.
United States: Ammonium sulfate demand slowed seasonally, but urea prices pushed ammonium sulfate prices slightly higher to FOB $300-$335/ton.
Ammonium Phosphate
Buyers re-entered the market this week, and ammonium phosphate prices remained stable or increased compared to the previous week.
India: CFR prices for diammonium phosphate (DAP) remained at $594-$595/ton.
Pakistan: Importers have arranged two shipments of 55,000 tons of Moroccan diammonium phosphate, with prices expected to be between CFR $626-$627/ton.
Indonesia: DAP imports for January-October decreased by 45% to 153,000 tons. Deliveries to Indonesia from China decreased by 56% to 71,000 tons due to limited supply from China. Imports from Vietnam almost tripled to 81,900 tons. Meanwhile, no Russian products arrived in Indonesia during this period, compared to 56,800 tons in the same period last year.
China: FOB prices for diammonium phosphate were $580-$592/ton, according to the latest reports from Pakistan and Vietnam. A supplier may have signed two contracts for diammonium phosphate last Friday, one for 12,000 tons to be shipped to Vietnam before December 25 at FOB $580/ton, and the other to export 16,000-18,000 tons to Vietnam at FOB $590/ton. Export trade has come to a standstill, with some producers stating that this year's products are sold out, and export policies for 2024 are yet to be clarified.
Morocco: OCP sold 97,000-112,000 tons of diammonium phosphate to South and West Asia at FOB $560-$575/ton.
Brazil: CFR prices for monoammonium phosphate remained at $560-$565/ton. Imports of monoammonium phosphate reached a historical high in Brazil, despite a decrease in supply from the United States and China, with increased supply from Russia, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia pushing up Brazil's imports of monoammonium phosphate this year.
United States: Due to limited domestic supply and increased trading activity for deliveries from December to March, prices for Noral phosphates rose this week. Prices for diammonium phosphate increased by $9/ton to FOB Noral $545-$570/ton. Prices for monoammonium phosphate rose from FOB Noral $590-$600/ton to $600-$615/ton.
Russia: Phosagro plans to increase production by 1.4 million tons in 2026, based on a base of 11.3 million tons this year. The increase in production will be achieved by increasing the production of phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid. Phosagro produced 3.63 million tons of phosphoric acid in the first eleven months, a 5.3% increase over the same period last year, reaching a historical high. Meanwhile, sulfuric acid production increased by nearly 3%, and phosphate production increased by 2.2%. Phosagro has initiated a large-scale maintenance activity for phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid production units in the fourth quarter of this year. In the first half of this year, Phosagro produced over 5.6 million tons of fertilizers, a 4.3% increase over the same period last year.
East Africa: Importers have purchased 30,000 tons of diammonium phosphate from Saudi Arabia at CFR $615-$620/ton. The goods will be shipped in mid-December, with 20,000 tons going to Kenya and the remaining 10,000 tons to Tanzania.
Benelux: Prices for diammonium phosphate remained stable at $665-$675/ton. Demand in Germany is low, and bulk diammonium phosphate is priced at around €610-620/ton. Diammonium phosphate in bulk is sold in Rouen, France, for €620/ton. Purchases of diammonium phosphate in Italy are limited, with bagged products priced at €620/ton. The price of diammonium phosphate in the UK is £550/ton for bagged delivery.
Prices for diammonium phosphate in the Suez Canal region will be supported by China's continued export restrictions and decreasing stocks in India and Pakistan. Prices in the United States will continue to rise. The import of monoammonium phosphate in Brazil may wait until Chinese exports resume.
Triple Superphosphate
CFR prices for TSP in Brazil remained stable at $430-$440/ton.
TSP prices for delivery in March to Paraguay were CFR $495/ton.
FOB prices for TSP in Egypt were $415/ton.
Transaction prices for small batches in Rouen, France, were €485/ton.
TSP from Israel to the Netherlands was FOB Amsterdam €530/ton.
TSP prices in the UK were £430/ton.
Potassium Fertilizer
Potash prices ranged from stable to declining, with global tightness in the potassium sulfate market leading to stronger demand.
Potash imports in Brazil are expected to exceed 13 million tons in 2023, reaching a historic high in the first 11 months of this year at 12.3 million tons.
Continued weak demand for potash, especially from Brazil, will continue to exert downward pressure on prices. In terms of potassium sulfate, most producers partially sold out in the first quarter, and China's continued export restrictions will further push up prices.
Compound Fertilizers
The global compound fertilizer market has remained calm and stable, mainly due to key regions being between buying seasons.
Germany will adjust prices for 15-15-15, with participants waiting for an improvement in demand. However, the expected recovery in demand is slow, and the longer the adjustment period, the more the market tends to stabilize in the new year.
Attention: The above price information is for commercial reference only due to the diversity of information collected, and Kelewell is not responsible for the authenticity of the data.
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