Fertiliser Focus – 2nd November 2020

Ammonium Nitrate        

Trade in UK produced A.N and N.S grades has started to improve following the recent correction in prices from CF & Yara on 19^th October. As we move into November prices remain as they were for October delivery. There is a good incentive to take delivery as soon as possible, December prices are £5 per tonne higher and a further £ 5 for January. Premiums for Sulphur grades are very competitive at present, only £ 4 per tonne for Sulfan 26N 35SO3 which has been as high as £ 8 recently. Availability of this grade is limited in some parts of the country so this may not last.

Urea

Markets are stable following the recent few weeks of intense focus on the RCF Indian tender. This may only last a short while as other areas of the world deal with their own demand which understandably was held back recently. We have mentioned Brazil and Northern Europe before here, Chinese domestic demand is expected to return very soon. India’s voracious appetite for Urea in 2020 has not yet been satisfied so the outlook remains stable to firm. Despite the reduction in UK Ammonium Nitrate prices, UK Urea prices are still very attractive, if managing the risk from volatilisation is a concern LIMUS® Protected Urea offers a solution, giving a very competitive price, comparable performance versus A.N with less waste.                                

                                       

Logistics   

At risk of being accused of alarmist or scaremongering talk, as it is now November this subject can probably be justified. The reason for bringing this topic up is that volumes of fertilisers ordered for spring 2020 application are below the same point in 2019, we all know why this was the case last year. It is evident apart from a few locations that plantings are much improved compared to this period last year, so the conclusion is that we have a lot of catching up to do on fertiliser ordering. Hauliers must be FIAS registered to transport any type of fertiliser which puts a limit on the available fleet, this is not an issue during much of the year but becomes a major challenge in spring.

Yara Caption Competition

Some useful prizes are on offer from Yara, all you have to do is come up with a witty and original caption to the cartoon below, to enter go to:

https://www.yara.co.uk/crop-nutrition/news-and-events/competitions/yaramila-caption-competition/