Weekly fertiliser update

• Granular Urea has gained further ground in Egypt this week as prices have firmed another £8 to £10/tonne.

• Prilled Urea prices appear to have stalled, but with the spread now £30/tonne between Granular and Prilled, either one comes down or one goes up to narrow the gap which is too large at present.

• GrowHow and Yara, after watching the market for several weeks, have finally released Nitrogen terms for October which reflect a staggering £20/tonne increase on their last offers. Although not totally surprising considering the current firmness of International nitrogen prices, this still comes as shocking news for those waiting or not able to buy.

• Imported AN and CAN are also very firm as the supply of all nitrogenous products in all areas remains very tight.

• If you are buying Nitrogen on a cost per unit basis despite the price rises, Granular Urea remains the best buy by a mile. Gleadell, as the leading supplier of this product to the UK, have terms for November and December delivery – something GrowHow or Yara are not willing to do on Ammonium Nitrate.

• Phosphate prices remain under pressure as producers are fully committed through until September and now appear happy to sit and see how the market develops.

• Potash prices are very static, business is typical for the time of year and, despite producer’s wishes to move prices higher, today cheaper Russian product arriving in to the UK will perhaps keep a lid on prices for the time being.