Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media. Urea: Prices fell in most global markets in early March as suppliers chased limited demand. Although India’s purchase tender has yet to formally conclude, IPL looks set to book 1.15 million tonnes of urea at $330-334.8/t cfr, with traders mainly sourcing from Russian and Middle Eastern producers.
Turkey’s thriving agricultural sector has created a large and dynamic fertilizer market at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, explains Hakan Goral, the CEO of Tekfen Agri Industry Group.
Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media. Urea: The market remained weak at the start of the year with urea prices falling as producers fought for liquidity. Egyptian product fell by $40/t to $495/t f.o.b. in a matter of days, while f.o.b. prices in the Middle East and southeast Asia similarly fell to around $440/t. Urea prices in many end-user markets also slumped: US prices fell over the course of the first week of January by $30/t, Brazil by $15/t and many European markets by around $20/t.
Last year saw global trade in all commodities have to take into account the potential loss of supply from Russia, a key exporter of many commodities. Sulphur was no exception, with prices swinging wildly across the year.
The International Fertiliser Society (IFS) has launched FerTechInform, a comprehensive online technical resource for fertilizer production. The new digital resource combines an information knowledge base with an interactive forum for users. IFS Secretary Steve Hallam explains how it works, who it is for, and why it came into being.
Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media
In a major blow to the British fertilizer industry, CF Fertilisers UK announced the closure of its Ince production site in north-west England in June (see p8). Ince is the UK’s largest compound fertilizer producer, operating three NPK+S units. It also manufactures large volumes of ammonium nitrate (AN) for Britain’s farmers. At the heart of the Cheshire complex is Ince’s long-standing ammonia plant. Unfortunately, high natural gas costs have kept this shuttered since September last year.
Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media
A selection of innovative products and technologies that have recently been brought to market.
Sulphur is becoming an increasingly vital crop nutrient, due to a combination of lower sulphur deposition from the atmosphere, the increasing prevalence of high-analysis fertilizers and higher cropping intensity.