Demand for fertilisers in India to pick up in November: ICIS

According to a new report of ICIS, a provider of market intelligence report for chemical, energy and fertiliser industries, India, which bought over 1 million tonnes of urea from the international market through tenders in September/October, is expected to purchase more in the near future. As per ICIS report, urea prices increased in October, with the lowest offer under STC at $ 309.90/tonne CFR (Cost & Freight), up nearly $ 15/tonne from the previous 26 September tender from MMTC.
 
“A fresh tender has been in announced by IPL, closing on 11 November, for shipment by 22 December. There are expectations that prices under the tender will be higher as Chinese prices have increased further following the close of the export tax window,” added the report.
 
There are varying estimates of outstanding requirements, ranging from 1.5 million tonnes up to 2.5m tonnes. There are expectations that India will continue to take cargoes in January/February as it is behind with buying.
 
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With respect to ammonia, ICIS feels that the demand from India remains far stronger than other parts of the world, with international fertiliser traders reporting several enquiries for spot cargoes in early November as illustrated by Mitsui’s late October sale of 5,000 tonnes of Indonesian ammonia to an undisclosed buyer in east coast India.
 
However, the sentiment in the phosphates market in India has been bearish in the run-up to November. “Buyers are not expected to come back to the market before the new year due to ample inventories and weak prices. Also, a lack of liquidity is putting pressure on buyers,” said the ICIS report.