UREA 

Urea fob prices are holding firm, largely due to firm demand from South Asia where India, Bangladesh and Pakistan are expected to issue government tenders for 1.6mt during November. 

Imports to Ireland will need to be booked by early December at the latest to have Urea in stock for January. Suppliers in Ireland are still hoping that Urea prices will fall further but are fast running out of time. With current CAN prices to Ireland looking competitive, we could see a reduction from the 100,000 tonnes of Urea normally imported for the season. 

GrowHow UK is still delivering a backlog of orders from October on old terms, so the £5 per tonne increase for November and £10 increase for December has yet to be established. 

AMMONIUM NITRATE 

Prices quoted for imported AN are significantly cheaper than the GrowHow price and, with low demand currently, prices continue to drift and have traded sideways. 

Levels of imported AN stocks in the UK have continued to build and, with producer stocks in Europe above normal, unless demand returns soon we could start to see downward pressure on AN prices out of the Baltic and East Europe.

PHOSPHATE 

The phosphates market is stable to firm overall. There is, at last, good news from the US domestic market with significant movement out of warehouses. This has yet to translate to a commensurate rise in DAP barges, but prices are heading north again up $2-4 per tonne on last week. 

POTASH 

There has been little activity in the potash market, with buyers unwilling to carry forward significant inventory into the New Year. The European debt crisis has also affected sentiment and many buyers are delaying purchases until market direction is clear. 

SULPHUR 

Market sentiment in China has deteriorated this week as domestic prices have slipped back to levels last seen in March. Slow downstream demand, unclear Chinese fertiliser export tax policy for 2012 and a wary global economy have dampened buyer confidence. Major import markets such as Brazil and North Africa are all covered under contracts until the end of 2011, hence the outlook for sulphur demand and prices will depend largely on China.