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Farmer Fertilizer Focus - Urea

By: Josh Linville, Vice President- Fertilizer

UREA
 
Josh Linville
Director - Fertilizer
What everyone wants to know first, what do we think will happen going forward
Last month, our forecast was:
Remember last month when I talked about how we saw the global S&D as being tight/supportive of pricing but we were fearful of emotion which may not be so supportive of pricing?  I'm still there.
Well, we have seen insane volatility around the world.  Adding to this mix is the loss of Russian exports due to their invasion of Ukraine and the potential loss of vessel shipments from the Black Sea due to vessels being struck with missiles.  I keep wanting to say that prices are going to come off significantly...then another Black Swan event jumps into the mix.
I am still bullish global urea thru the next couple months with the main factors being the Russia/Ukraine situation and continued loss of Chinese exports.  This get exponentially worse if Russia cuts gas supplies to Europe.
For North America, I'm still leaning toward the bullish side for preplant.  Sidedress will be highly dependent on imports and spring NH3 success/failure.
How is that for a non-answer answer?!!!
It is hard to call markets when price movements are based on fundamental reasons.  It gets near impossible when you start throwing political situations into the mix.  I'll continue to believe that the urea markets are price supportive until we break out of these situations.
What has happened in the last 30 days?
Russia fears become reality
Honestly, if we could stop having once in a lifetime event every other day, that would be great...
Unfortunately, this event has happened and it is big for the world of urea for a few reasons:
  • World is shutting down the Russian economy - this is happening in regards to Russian currency, Russian banks getting locked out, even the world taking Russian leaders possessions.  From a fertilizer POV, it has become very difficult to impossible to do business with payment pathways being closed.  How do you take possession of a ship of anything if you cannot make/receive payments?
  • Black Sea shipments are in danger after vessels struck with "projectiles" - Dear news outlets, the actual term is missiles but you do you!!!  Ship owners/captains are well aware of what has happened in the Black Sea.  They have seen other ships hit with missiles and are now going to be sending their ships elsewhere to haul loads.  Why put your ship or crew in danger when there are other options?
  • Now higher fear of losing Russian natural gas shipments to Europe - this still remains my biggest fear from not only an industrial POV but also a humanitarian view.  Putin seems to be unhinged and willing to do whatever it takes to win this incursion.  Do not think for a second that he wouldn't shut down that pipeline.  If that happens, expect to see European fertilizer production drop which means higher global prices.

This entire situation could be over in a matter of days...or it could linger for weeks/months.  This this could end in a whimper where Russian comes to their senses and negotiates a peaceful resolution.  We could also see Putin continue to ramp up aggressive talks and push the world closer to a global war.

There is no way to know and why the urea market changes so fast and so violently.  All we can do is our best to stay ahead of the situation while trying to think of how things will changes under certain scenarios.

China continues to shut down exports...still
No change to this storyline for the 3rd month!  I swear I'm not being lazy.  It just remains unchanged and it is still important enough to repeat.
The Chinese government continues to restrict urea exports and continues to hold to the story that they will do so until June '22.  For reference, we had forecasted China as exporting 5.5MMT thru this fertilizer year.  Unless there is a major about face, this number is not happening and leaves the global market much more tightly supplied than it anticipated.
As with everything China, we know that this can change quickly.  If I were to wake up Monday to a report that they were allowing exports with no restrictions, I would not blink.  However, until that day comes, we must assume that they will continue this program for the foreseeable future.
One new thing to note this month is that by itself, losing Chinese exports is a  big deal.  When we add in the loss (or possible loss) of Russian exports, we are now talking about losing upwards of 25% of the global urea export trade.  That is a very big deal.
Rumors of U.S. March imports being significantly higher than expected
The North American urea market has largely been driven by the number of imports which have been well ahead of schedule.
We now know how many tons were imported thru the 1st half of the fertilizer year vs last couple years:
  • July thru December 2019 - 1.51M
  • July thru December 2020 - 1.34M
  • July thru December 2021 - 2.76M
We are about twice as far ahead as normal on imports which is a big reason why NOLA values have been so low vs world replacement.  The market was telling us something and for a bit, I missed it.  It was effectively saying "we are ahead on imports, we need to slow down so we will accomplish that by being a huge discount to slow the pace".  
However, we are getting more info regarding how Q1 is shaping up and it looks like we are still going to be ahead of schedule.  Some forecast have Q1 '22 imports at 1.4M.  Others have been saying that March alone could be upwards of 1M. 
As long as imports continue ahead of schedule, the North American marketplace will be a discount to the world...that is, until it is too late to get product here.
Getting too late to bring additional tons to North America
The Middle East accounts for approximately half of the urea imports to North America so we need to use that as our time table.  If we decided today that we needed an additional 500K tons to come, here is what we are dealing with.  This assumes that we have a vessel in the Middle East ready to load today and that there is a port with an open timeslot with product to load it:
  • It would take approximately 30 days to get from the Middle East to NOLA
  • Assuming no issues unloading, it would take several days to unload into barges and to hook up power to those barges
  • You are looking at 2 - 4 weeks of river sail time (depending on destination)
  • Then several days to unload those barges into a terminal or into railcars
  • Then several days at least to move that product to an inland storage sight

Long and short, newly called upon tons are not showing up on your doorstep until mid-May at the earliest.  This does not mean we will have a shortage.  This is more to give an appreciation of how long it takes to get product.  When I was in Australia, I was shocked because not only do you have sail time, you also have to hit several ports with a ship.  It all takes time.

Take a look at urea vs UAN/NH3
This is going to vary a lot depending on where you reside but do not be afraid to take a look at urea as an alternative to UAN or NH3.
Just looking at the NOLA differential, there is a huge spread between the products with urea being cheap.  The below charts look at those comparisons and distinctly show how much of a difference there is vs normal in the last few years.
Again, this is NOLA urea/UAN and western cornbelt NH3 average comparisons.  Each product has its own logistic cost structure for getting inland so your numbers are going to vary.
image 30309image 30310
Where are current values in relation to the past
For urea, we use NOLA/New Orleans Louisiana as our base point as it is the easiest spot to track.
One note:  the below comparisons are using the COB Friday values (25th) as we always do.  As of this morning (28th), NOLA urea values are at least $50 higher.  That is how quickly these markets are changing.
  • Vs 30 days ago - -7% or approximately $45 lower 
  • Vs 90 days ago - -25% or approximately $198 lower
  • Vs 6 months ago - +39% or approximately $168 higher
  • Vs 1 year ago - +67% or approximately $240 higher
Bull/Bear Factors
Because no market is ever guaranteed to go higher/lower, we try to consider the factors that can sway values so that we are able to act when they occur rather than react.
Bullish Factors
  • Russia/Ukraine war goes on for a while – the longer this conflict goes on, the more bullish it is for global urea markets.  Russia accounts for around 14% of the global export total and today, it seems the world is united in closing out Russia from the world.  Couple that with China (approximately 10% of the global export total) still not exporting and we are talking about losing 25%...not many markets can see prices lower when losing that much.  That doesn't even take into account reports that vessels have been struck by missiles in the Black Sea which is likely to slow/stop deliveries/shipments from that area.
  • Our N.A. ending spring inventory level is expected to be very low so any hiccups will be felt – this still holds true.  If everything plays out as expected, we will end with very low inventory totals at the end of spring.  That means any production hiccups, any demand spikes, any unexpected lowering of imports will be felt immediately to the bull side.
  • North American values are WELL below replacement – Middle Eastern producers have been quiet on new sales recently, but Egypt/North Africa has been active.  When we look at Egyptian sales this morning (Monday) against NOLA urea physical, NOLA remains an $80 discount.
Bearish Factors
  • Russia/Ukraine conflict comes to a peaceful resolution – it's important to note the term peaceful in that.  If Russia has to be battled out of Ukraine and it appears that Putin will continue taking an aggressive stance, it is likely a lot of the sanctions will remain.  But if they come to the negotiation table, come to terms and Russia leaves which causes the world to welcome them back to the global economy, we will no longer fear losing their urea exports.
  • China reemerges as a urea exporter – for a while now, many have speculated that China was only banning exports due to the Olympics.  I originally thought that was the case but no longer believe it valid.  However, I'm not always right.  If we see China come back to the export stage, that will be a boost for global supplies (they account for 10% of the global export market).  
  • Spring NH3 surprisingly high / corn acreage drops- either one listed basically equates to "lower demand for urea".  We feel pretty good about our demand splits, crop acreage mix, etc. but as mentioned above, we are not always right.  Sometimes all it takes is disappointing demand to put a market into free fall.
Where are the current urea/grain ratio values today
We believe that only looking at the flat price of either grains or fertilizer can be misleading:
  • Only selling grain can hurt you if fertilizer prices rise substantially
  • Only buying fertilizer can hurt you if grain prices fall
We look at the ratio "value" to get a better indication of where we are or how many bushels of X does it take to pay for 1 ton of fertilizer.
Would you rather:
  • Spend 135 bushels to pay for 1 ton of urea
  • Spend 55 bushels to pay for 1 ton of urea
When we compare the current ratio value against recent years, we start to see if we are high or low.
YOUR VALUES WILL LOOK DIFFERENT
This graph looks at the NOLA urea price vs the flat grain price. There are no logistics on either product. Your location will look different due to fertilizer logistical costs, grain basis, etc.
image 30287
image 30288
image 30289
image-20220228112838-1
 
 
Josh Linville’s Thoughts
  • Last month, I wrote the 2nd bullet point (italicized) regarding what to expect in February and it did not disappoint at all.  
  • Last month I mentioned in this section how the battle between tight S&D fundamentals and emotional traders was going to be fascinating to watch.  January did not disappoint!!!  Unfortunately for my nerves/sleep patterns/etc., February is likely to be more of the same. 
  • Expect to continue seeing wild and violent changes in the urea market going forward.  Many may be shocked at how quickly prices change and how quickly a POV can change from bearish to bullish to bearish again.  While what we are living thru is far from normal, a "normal" urea market see's more than it fair share of changes.  This is why we continually say that we need to look for our moments.  When an opportunity presents itself, jump on it.
  • Keep in mind that NOLA trade should be seen more as directional than a one for one price movement for your market.  In fact, NOLA should be viewed somewhat similarly as Chicago corn is for North American farmers.  Just because Chicago corn prices go up does not mean the elevator does as well.  There are plenty of factors between there and your operation.  Same thing on the downside.  NOLA urea trade is the easiest to track so gets all the attention.  What is overlooked is the relative size to the market.  What is more important is the production levels reaction.  If NOLA drops and producers follow, that moves the market.  If NOLA drops and producers hold their price, while frustrating to no end, the inland market doesn't move.
  • Continue talking to your supplier even if you do not want to pull the trigger on tons today.  If you are frustrated/scared about locking in price today, imagine it from their POV.  I'm not asking you to feel sorry for them.  That is part of business but at least see it from their perspective.  They are just as scared of holding product too long and getting caught with high prices.  The more conversations you can have, the better prepared they can be when you are ready to buy.
 
 
 
  • Fertilizers

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