The prices for nitrogen fertilizer on the world market have hardly changed this week. In addition to weak European demand, the delay in the latest Indian urea tender is having the biggest impact on nitrogen fertilizer prices in the short term.
Analysts say this tender will probably only take place in the first week of November. At export ports in the Middle East, urea costs $375 per ton for loading in November. For December, prices are even USD 10 lower and by January 2025 exporters’ price demands will fall to around USD 350 per ton.
Egyptian export ports now charge almost $375 per ton for loading urea in November – that’s $15 less than in October. Many European retailers and manufacturers continue to hold back from mentioning prices and are waiting for further developments.
Russia, on the other hand, is increasing fertilizer exports in order to sell quantities abroad that are not needed for its own agriculture. Last week, the government in Moscow decided to increase the export volume for compound fertilizers between June 1, 2024 and November 30, 2024 by around 300,000 tons to almost 7.6 million tons.
Against this background, prices for ammonium nitrate on the world market have recently fallen slightly. European traders may be buying the Russian nitrogen because they are struggling with the dilemma that locally produced nitrogen is too expensive compared to imported goods (see Yara factory closure).
