Urea
Local demand for granular urea is slow, but the market is preparing for price increases after India and Brunei’s latest tender results.
Granular urea was last assessed at A$760-770/t fca Geelong.
Local demand may increase if international free on board (FOB) prices stay elevated and signs indicate further increases, importers said.
There is 60,000t of urea in transit to Australia, vessel tracking data from Kpler show.
US president Donald Trump on 12 January threatened to impose an extra 25% tariff on imports from countries engaged in business deals with Iran. It is unclear if there will be any price or material impacts of this in the Australian market as of yet, but global uncertainty in the market arising from these tariffs could impact Australian markets in indirect ways.
Phosphates
Local demand for MAP/DAP remains strong but contracting activity dipped slightly after a strong contracting period in the lead up to Christmas.
There is 373,000t of MAP/DAP in transit to Australia over nine vessels including two from Morocco, five from Saudi Arabia, and one each from the US and Egypt, according to vessel tracking data from Kpler.
Australia’s urea imports rise in November
Australia imported 194,500t of urea in November, more than double of its imports in the same month in 2024, driven by strong summer crop demand in Queensland.
Australia imported 3.58 million tonnes of urea from January to November, a 3% decline from a year earlier, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show.
Australia's year-to-date MAP imports rose by 2% to 1.2 million tonnes, driven by a 152% year-on-year increase in MAP imports in November.
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.