Urea
Urea producers in North Africa and the Arab Gulf will be hoping that India buys big in the latest tender results. However initial estimates that India would buy 1M tonnes have been tempered with speculation that only 800K may be purchased, despite offers made for over 1.5M tonnes. Chinese production could be ramped up as some industries return post Covid-19 shutdowns, this could be a factor in India holding back purchases as a return to exporting from Chinese manufacturers they hope will prompt a weaker market. UK markets are stable to firm as some merchants and shippers get to the end of their stocks, new shipments are unlikely at this stage of the season.
Ammonium Nitrate
CF & Yara published April terms, keeping Prilled Ammonium Nitrate levels for April delivery at the previous levels, deals can also be done for May delivery at the same level. Granular Ammonium Nitrate levels from Yara however have risen £ 11 per tonne as European demand kicks in, all Granular AN from Yara is made in their European factories. Granular compound NPK prices have also seen a similar rise for April. A cargo of Imported AN thought to be Lithan is understood to be arriving at a port in the Humber area this week.
Logistics
After a busy few weeks and with all the challenges recently experienced it was no surprise that some northern based blenders have had to stop taking orders for April delivery, with some offering May as the earliest next delivery slot. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Yara and CF are still offering April delivery terms, but this is almost certainly post Easter now. COFCO still has some availability for second half April delivery on many products, please speak to your Farm Trader for details.
Coronavirus Bill
The Coronavirus Bill enables all four UK governments to turn on new powers when needed in response to the Covid-19 crisis. Following agreement by both Houses on the text of the bill it received Royal Assent on 25th March. The bill is now an Act of Parliament. The Act enables government to act in relation to food supply. Persons or bodies representing the supply of fertilisers are seen as being ‘closely connected’ with the ‘food supply chain’ Suppliers are seen as ’critical dependencies’ as the bill aims to seek information, if required, to ensure the whole of any part of the food supply chain is not at risk of disruption. This should give growers comfort that however long this crisis persists, fertiliser production and imports are recognised as key to our food supply network.
Economic Data as at close on Friday 3rd April v (27th March 2020)£ = $1.2268 ($ 1.2461) £ = € 1.1350 (€ 1.1184) Crude Oil = $ 34.11 ($ 24.93) Natural Gas = $1.62 ($1.67). Please treat pricing on graphs as a guide, please use quote request form for an up to date price.