International market trend of ammonium sulphate in the 4th week of August 2018

Ammonium sulphate: International market trend of ammonium sulphate in the 4th week of August 2018

Source: Zhongyu Information Date: 2018-8-24 17:50:35

8.16-8.23 International Market Trends (from foreign sources)

Due to tight supply in northwestern Europe and a small supply in Russia/Belarus in September, ammonium sulfate prices remain strong this week. The high price of urea and nitrate continues to support the nitrogen fertilizer market.

Northwestern Europe: Due to production problems in many factories, the supply of granular ammonium sulphate in northwestern Europe is very tight.

■ The closure of the SECO Fertilisants plant in Ribecourt, France, has been permanently reduced by approximately 100,000 tons/year from the market. The company, a joint venture between Prayon and Yara, announced on July 18 that it has entered the liquidation phase and will continue until August 31, after which the company will close in September.

■ Production at Eurochem’s Ludwigshafen plant and Borealis’ Sas van Gent plant is also reduced in summer

■ According to distributors, OCI has obtained less ammonium sulfate from Geleen than in the past, and it will not be qualified until the first quarter of 2019.

The general grade price of OCI has risen to around €210/tonne ($243/ton fca). Traders are buying China’s extruded granular ammonium sulphate at a price of 195-197 euros/ton fca ($226-228/tonne fca) Ghent, including the original stock and fresh products from November to December.

Baltic/Black Sea: Due to the focus of suppliers on the domestic market, the supply of Black Sea and Baltic Sea was tight throughout August. SBU is accepting bids from traders below $130/tonne FOB Black Sea to supply Greece with 3,000 tons of caprolactam-grade ammonium sulphate, but no products are available for sale. It will discuss with Russian buyers in the next few days and it is possible to sell its goods from September to October in the country. Kuaz August has been sold out and no export is currently available. Manufacturers are expected to discuss supply prices with domestic compound fertilizer manufacturers before export. Kuaz expects to have 2-22,000 tons of granular ammonium sulfate and 1-1.2 million tons of standard ammonium sulfate for the domestic market in September. This means that due to the carry-over commitment, only about 8,000 tons of standard ammonium sulfate will be sold to Russian compound fertilizer producers, and there will be no exports in September.

China: The supply in the market continued to be tight in August, so the price of caprolactam-grade ammonium sulfate is 117-120 US dollars / ton FOB. Some sellers want to raise the FOB price for shipments in September to $119/ton. This week, caprolactam-grade ammonium sulfate, which is denominated in local currency, stabilized at 720 yuan/ton ($105/ton), and coking grade price rose by 10 yuan to 620 yuan/ton ($90/ton). As the factory gradually resumes production in China, the operating rate is gradually increasing. Jiangsu Haili is expected to be fully loaded next week, and Shandong continues to be fully productive. Yueyang Juyuan Petrochemical, a subsidiary of Sinopec, started 70% this week. According to reports, Fujian recently tendered at a price of 116-118 US dollars / ton FOB, supplying about 30,000 tons of caprolactam-grade ammonium sulfate to traders. The quote from the trader is $118-120/ton FOB. Due to the increase in the search for goods in Brazil, new demand for extruded granules of ammonium sulphate in northern China is emerging. From September to October, it is estimated that China will search for 100,000 tons of goods.

Indonesia: 5,000 tons of standard ammonium sulphate orders to Surabaya and Panjang will be closed next week. Shipping costs for container shipping to Surabaya are estimated at $8-9/ton, while bulk freight charges are $25-26/ton. According to reports, Atlas purchased 8,000 tons of ammonium sulphate from Sojitz (excluding Japan) at a price of US$133/ton CFR Sangi, which is lower than the price of the local Chinese ammonium sulphate. It is said that this is the MMA grade ammonium sulfate for the compound fertilizer manufacturer. According to reports, the price of caprolactam-grade ammonium sulfate in China is as low as $140/ton CFR. According to reports, Swire purchased China’s 6,000 tons of caprolactam-grade ammonium sulfate from Golden Barley for $140/tonne CFR. The estimated discounted price is $118/ton FOB China.

Vietnam: Vietnam imported 71,408 tons of ammonium sulphate in July 2018, down from 112,000 tons in the same period of 2017. Total imports from January to July were 554,000 tons, down from 642,000 tons in the first seven months of 2017.

Brazil: It is reported that Brazilian buyers will purchase about 100,000 tons of China extruded granular ammonium sulfate in the market, which will be shipped in September/October. According to the quality, the final sales price of China extruded granular ammonium sulfate is between 190-195 US dollars / ton CFR. European suppliers have already priced at $200-202/tonne CFR, and the next set of selling intentions has increased to $205/tonne CFR. It is reported that some small-volume products sold in September have reached this level. This week’s report, the standard ammonium sulfate price from Europe is stable at 150-155 US dollars / ton CFR, and the Chinese caprolactam-grade ammonium sulfate remains unchanged at 148-150 US dollars / ton CFR in the market downturn.

US: Helm is looking to load 2.25-25,000 tons of granular ammonium sulphate in Antwerp from September 3-5 to the Theodore and Mississippi Rivers.

Share this post