Urea
Local granular urea prices have continued to ease from highs at the end of August, but tight local supply has stopped steeper declines in the price despite minimal demand.
Granular urea was last assessed at A$830-840/t fca Geelong.
Australia imported 3.2 million tonnes of urea from January to August 2025, 6% less than the same period in 2024, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. There are currently 75,900t of urea in transit to the east coast of Australia, while this season’s urea import program to the west coast has concluded.
Phosphates
Local demand for MAP continues to be weak due to high international free on board (FOB) prices, but buying appetite is expected to pick up in the coming month, as prices have started to ease.
It is unlikely Australian importers will be able to import any more MAP or DAP from China. China’s export window is expected to close on 15 October and Chinese suppliers are reaching the end of their quotas.
Australia imported 1 million tonnes of MAP in the year to date, 3.2% down from the same period in 2024, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Phosphate Hill given a small lifeline
Glencore has secured an A$600m aid package from the Australian government to support its Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery.
Dyno Nobel manufactures 770,000 t/yr of MAP/DAP at Phosphate Hill using sulphuric acid — a metal smelting byproduct produced at Mount Isa — as a feedstock.
The company plans to either shut or sell Phosphate Hill by September 2026. However, it would struggle to find a buyer for Phosphate Hill without Mount Isa's sulphuric acid supply because of high acid import costs.
Fertiglobe acquires Wengfu
UAE-based Fertiglobe completed its acquisition of Chinese-owned Wengfu Australia's distribution assets on 1 October, expanding further into Asia-Pacific.
Fertiglobe now owns Wengfu's distribution assets, including eight warehouses across five ports on Australia's east coast with 700,000-800,000 t/yr of distribution capacity, which Fertiglobe said it may scale up to 1.1m t/yr.
Commentary and pricing supplied by Argus Media
Disclaimer: The information provided in this report is general in nature and is intended for informational purposes only.