Major global phosphate export location price graphs
I will have 2 graphs: one that lists historical pricing in short tons and one in metric tons so that everyone can read it in a form they prefer. All prices are listed in USD. All prices are FOB or priced at their origin.
I will say this now and will say it going forward to eternity: these are the flat price graphs for each individual location. Your price where you are is going to be different. There are logistics. There is the cost of storage/interest/insurance/etc. These graphs should not be taken as "it shows the price at $700, why isn't my price $700". These graphs should be used to give an appreciation for price movements thru 2022.
What everyone wants to know first, what do we think will happen going forward
Similar to January, still feels like phosphate will have some semblance of price support over the next month or two.
A few of the reasons for this:
- Some of the early southern U.S. indications are that demand isn't too bad. The south is usually a good indication for the remainder of the market.
- A substantial 2023 acreage change has not been seen/heard so coming demand hasn't changed.
- The ratio is improved vs a year ago. As you will see, it is a LONG ways from what we have seen in 2020 and 2021, but it is better than the high we have seen last couple years.
The last thing that drives my thoughts is timing. March is 4 weeks away. Winter feels like it is going to take forever to get done. However, 4 weeks is not that long. Preparation time is almost over. We are just about to the just in time part of spring and that usually supports pricing.
Should you buy your spring '23 phosphate needs?
If it works for your farm, yes.
With where the current ratios are, I wouldn't be putting so much on that I'm building soil levels. However, they are improved enough that maintenance levels to ensure solid 2023 yields are in order.
Ultimately, it comes down to each farmers individual farms to determine if it makes sense. The value is still historically high. The ratio today is about 40 bushels of corn per ton of DAP higher than where it was same time 2020. It may not work for everyone.
But on the surface in a general statement, I think it is time to lock in your needs. Time is running out and I get a feel that the market has been slow to put product in place with falling prices. I'm all about trying to grab that last $10 - $20 downside, but I'm much more worried about finding out product isn't available.
general global dap/map information
What has happened in the last 30 days?
Did phosphate prices really...go up?
Surprisingly, the answer is yes!!! It wasn't the biggest 30 day rally we have ever seen but it appears the phosphate market has found its short term price floor.
Longer term, I do not think this will hold. The cost of production continues to drop slightly. Once past spring, summer drags forever it feels.
But today, as we approach spring, it feels like we have found price support.
Grain/phosphate ratios have improved vs same time last year
I'm not going to bore you with putting all the graphs here that are shown below.
Today, the grain/phosphate ratios have improved vs where we were same time last year. They are still much higher than the lows we have seen but we will take improvement wherever we can.
One word of caution if you are still trying to decide what to do. If you purchase your phosphate today, hold off on selling forward grain and the price of grain drops, today's ratio means nothing. For example:
- If we sell Dec '23 corn today - $5.87/bushel (using Chicago/no basis)
- If we purchase DAP at $640/ton (using NOLA/no basis or logistics)
- That gives a ratio of 109 bushels of corn per ton of DAP
That is where we are locked in if we do both sides of the equation. I realize that selling grain forward does have some risks and everyone needs to consider if those risks are worth it. I'm not here to say it is or is not.
So what happens if it goes sour on us?
- If we purchase DAP at $640/ton
- We hold on selling Dec '23 corn and it drops to $5/bushel
- When we finally secure both sides, that ratio has deteriorated to 128
You might be thinking "nothing out there indicates corn is dropping that much, quit trying to scare us". I get it, but that number is actually higher than some models are predicting. If the U.S. hits 92M acres of corn and we hit trendline yields, assuming demand and everything remains constant, we could be looking at a cash price sub $5...
Now, we could also have a horrible growing season, demand jump and prices rally.
Merely trying to show the dangers.
No new news regarding U.S. duties against Chinese/Russian/Moroccan produced phosphates
It feels as though this story has been largely forgotten.
In the summer of 2020, a duty case was filed with the U.S. government to impose duties on Moroccan/Russian produced phosphates (China already had a duty in place). That case was eventually approved and effectively blocked all 3 sources from arriving.
As phosphate values have rallied far above historic norms, there had been hope that a grassroots effort would put pressure on D.C. to drop the case. If those duties made sense when values were in the $200 - $300 range, it made sense to drop them as price doubled or nearly tripled.
However, we have not heard much in regards to any action or progress being made recently.
North American phosphate values have continued to ebb and flow with global values. The difference being that our values have been slightly elevated where that hasn't been the case in history. Maybe we will be surprised in the coming months of another push, but today that does not appear to be happening.
Aussie farmers should be preparing
Typically I spend a lot of time talking about North American farming. What can I say, I like to talk about home!!
However, Australian farmers are nearing their phosphate application season and there remain some things to be worried about.
The import graph shows that 2022 continues to stay relatively close to normal patterns. Nothing really stands out and total imports thru November are only slightly behind the average.
The worrisome part for me is considering the Q1 ramp up for application. Namely, look at the second graph. The last couple years have seen a tremendous amount of product flowing from China. Why is that important? Proximity. It doesn't take as long for a ship to sail from China to Australia. Today, tons are coming from all over the place. Places that take longer for product to arrive.
If there is a surge of demand because farmers have waited and all decide to buy on the same day, importers will take longer for new arrivals based on the loss of China as an origin point.
There is still time to prepare and this isn't trying to scare anyone into buying right now. Merely trying to point out that global phosphate trade flows are still not "normal" and that could mean delays in product arriving if everyone waits until it is too late.
Chinese exports at December averages...but still low
China, being the world's largest phosphate producing nation and one of the largest exporting nations, needs to be watched for signs of over/under supplies.
There had been hope in the global phosphate market that China was returning to its former phosphate exporting glory. August/September/October had seen export volumes rise. While still short of averages, the increase was noted.
However, those flows have slowed considerably to finish 2022. Both November and December "only" saw exports of around 400,000 tons. Some are pointing to December with the point that exports matched the 3-year average and that means they are coming back. That is one way to look at it. Another is that the cumulative 2022 year is still WELL short of the 3-year average and that could leave an inventory shortfall if demand comes back in a big way...
Where are current values in relation to the past
NOLA/New Orleans, Louisiana DAP price comparison
Number 5 exporter of DAP/MAP in 2021
Top 5 export destinations (2.6MMT exported in 2021)
- Canada (63%)
- Brazil (11%)
- Colombia (7%)
- Mexico (6%)
- Australia (5%)
Price comparisons
- Vs 30 days ago - +7% or approximately $40 higher
- Vs 90 days ago - -9% or approximately $60 lower
- Vs 6 months ago - -17% or approximately $130 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -7% or approximately $50 lower

U.S. Midwest Average (using multiple points across Midwest) price comparison
- Vs 30 days ago - -1% or approximately $4 lower
- Vs 90 days ago - -15% or approximately $126 lower
- Vs 6 months ago - -16% or approximately $136 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -9% or approximately $65 lower

U.S. Northern Plains Average price comparison
- Vs 30 days ago - -1% or approximately $10 lower
- Vs 90 days ago - -13% or approximately $105 lower
- Vs 6 months ago - -15% or approximately $120 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -7% or approximately $50 lower

U.S. Southern Plains Average price comparison
- Vs 30 days ago - +4% or approximately $24 higher
- Vs 90 days ago - -14% or approximately $111 lower
- Vs 6 months ago - -14% or approximately $116 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -4% or approximately $26 lower

Morocco DAP price comparison
Number 2 exporter of DAP/MAP in 2021
Top 5 export destinations (7M exported in 2021)
- Brazil (28%)
- India (14%)
- Bangladesh (8%)
- Argentina (6%)
- Nigeria (4%)
Price comparisons:
- Vs 30 days ago - -6% or approximately $48 lower
- Vs 90 days ago - -10% or approximately $78 lower
- Vs 6 months ago - -30% or approximately $298 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -24% or approximately $218 lower

Black Sea DAP price comparison
Number 3 exporter of DAP/MAP in 2021
Top 5 export destinations (4MMT exported in 2021)
- India (42%)
- United States (21%)
- Australia (8%)
- Brazil (9%)
- Kenya (5%)
Price comparisons:
- Vs 30 days ago - +1% or approximately $5 higher
- Vs 90 days ago - -1% or approximately $8 lower
- Vs 6 months ago - -26% or approximately $232 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -25% or approximately $214 lower

India DAP price comparison
Number 2 importer of DAP/MAP in 2021
Top 5 import origins (4.8MMT imported in 2021)
- China (39%)
- Saudi Arabia (35%)
- Morocco (20%)
- Jordan (3%)
- Russia (2%)
Price comparisons:
- Vs 30 days ago - -7% or approximately $51 lower
- Vs 90 days ago - -11% or approximately $85 lower
- Vs 6 months ago - -31% or approximately $295 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -28% or approximately $261 lower

China DAP price comparison
Number 1 exporter of DAP/MAP in 2021
Top 5 export destinations (10MMT exported in 2021)
- Brazil (19%)
- India (19%)
- Pakistan (9%)
- Bangladesh (7%)
- Thailand (6%)
Price comparisons:
- Vs 30 days ago - -7% or approximately $50 lower
- Vs 90 days ago - -9% or approximately $62 lower
- Vs 6 months ago - -31% or approximately $287 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -27% or approximately $234 lower

Saudi Arabia DAP price comparison
Number 3 exporter of DAP/MAP in 2021
Top 5 export destinations (4.1MMT exported in 2021)
- India (42%)
- United States (21%)
- Australia (9%)
- Brazil (8%)
- Kenya (5%)
Price comparisons:
- Vs 30 days ago - -6% or approximately $42 lower
- Vs 90 days ago - -8% or approximately $60 lower
- Vs 6 months ago - -29% or approximately $276 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -25% or approximately $223 lower

Brazil DAP price comparison
Number 1 importer of DAP/MAP in 2021
Top 5 import origins (6.15MMT imported in 2021)
- China (32%)
- Morocco (31%)
- Russia (24%)
- Saudi Arabia (5%)
- United States (5%)
Price comparisons
- Vs 30 days ago - +2% or approximately $13 higher
- Vs 90 days ago - +6% or approximately $38 higher
- Vs 6 months ago - -32% or approximately $307 lower
- Vs 1 year ago - -22% or approximately $192 lower
