Fertiliser market quiet over Whitsun

AGRICULTURAL merchants and fertiliser traders are no different from anyone else who is not actually farming themselves in wanting to take advantage of a break around a bank holiday.

Consequently, apart from the aftercut market in Scotland, actual sales of fertiliser have been quiet.

Scottish orders for group business have been reported in the mid to high £80s for KN and NKS products but individual farmer purchases continue to be on an ad hoc basis with consequently higher prices.

Speculation about the forthcoming nitrogen market has, however, not been so quiet with some merchants talking of prices for 34.5% N domestic ammonium nitrate below £85/t.

This has to be way below the expectations of the majors who must hope for the season to start about £90/t if historic market patterns are to be repeated.

At the moment, prices are rock bottom and can only rise. But its impossible for anyone to guess when.

With the spot market still about £88-92/t on-farm delivered for nitrogen, one could anticipate that the majors will open the season at or around that level.

Very few cargoes of imported nitrogen have arrived and one of those was impounded at Brightlingsea, allegedly for errors in documentation.

Few are anticipated at the start of this season and so all eyes are on Terra, the biggest player in the domestic nitrogen market, to set terms.

In contrast, prices for PKs should hold firm at about £120 per tonne but attractive prices for imported 8.24.24 could be a possibility once the market gets under way.

Spot prices for CAN in Ireland have risen slightly.

CURRENT MARKETS