Brazil urea price climbs to $488/t as India books just 410,000 t in key tender

The Brazil urea price rose to $476–488 per tonne CFR from $464–482 a week earlier, according to the fourth October edition of trading house Nobel Trading’s Nobel Report Agro, published October 26. Deals for granular urea closed at $475–490, even as Brazilian buyers held back ahead of the October 25 presidential runoff.

The push came from abroad. The report said Dutch TTF gas topped €90 per MWh on October 20, lifting estimated urea production costs in northwest Europe to about $740 per tonne from $678. Chinese cargoes were offered at $470–475 at Aratu and Paranaguá, but in limited volumes, while Qatari and Nigerian product was offered at $485–500.

India is the other swing factor. Nobel Trading reported that India bought only about 410,000 tonnes in its October 7 tender against 1.7 million tonnes sought. Indian Potash Limited has not published an award figure. Lowest offers in the IPL urea tender were $352.10 per tonne for the east coast and $356.25 for the west coast. The report expects a new Indian tender between late October and mid-November, with Indian stocks estimated at 6.8–8.1 million tonnes.

Elsewhere, MAP held at $832–850 per tonne CFR, with Russia now the main supplier to Brazil. Granular MOP eased to $358–371, and October potash arrivals of about 634,000 tonnes were 27% below a year earlier. Brazil’s combined urea and ammonium sulfate imports fell 21% in January–September to 7.95 million tonnes.

Source: Portal do Agronegócio