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Farmer Fertilizer Focus - Phosphates

By: Josh Linville, Vice President- Fertilizer

PHOSPHATES
 
Josh Linville
Director - Fertilizer
What everyone wants to know first, what do we think will happen going forward
I'm starting to believe that phosphate is poised to see the next big price jumps in the coming weeks/months.  While I do not like thinking that, here is the rationale:
  • Chinese government is blocking exports and their phosphate exports account for roughly 32% of global trade or 4.6MMT per year.
  • India stockpiles are reported very low (less than one third of "normal")
  • North American stockpiles are low due to a big spring application, lack of imports due to Mosaic's CV duty case and perceived fall demand
  • Dec '22 corn values have been ticking higher which the market will read as "farmer has more money to spend on phosphate"
  • Rumors that Russia will start working toward restricting exports similar to China.  While it may only apply to nitrogen products, we cannot rule out phosphates.

I believe a big part of the reason that we have not already seen prices increasing (actually seeing paper values up $40+ since I wrote this) is that the market is waiting to see what fall demand looks like.  The last time we were in the vicinity of these values, phosphate demand was down 32% with most of the losses attributed to demand destruction.  However, if we start to see good demand in the next couple weeks, watch out.

Lastly, I do not expect prices to tumble if we have a bad fall run.  If we have poor demand in the fall, that normally leads to high inventories going into the winter months and producers having to get aggressive to clear product.  That should not be the case this time around as North American producers can simply export their stockpiles.  Florida used to export millions of tons all around the world and they can do that again.  Australia will be a willing buyer.  India is well behind on stockpiles.  If there is one thing a producer loves, it is options.

What has happened in the last 30 days?
Chinese government restricted exports
China is no different from any other country in the world.  As global phosphate prices have rallied, so too has Chinese values.  The difference is that China is a communist government and will take steps to restrict "free market" movements if they believe it is in the best interest of their people.
Due to that, the Chinese government has stopped the flow of fertilizer from inland production points to ocean ports that would normally be used to export product around the world.  The problem is that China is a MAJOR producer of phosphate.  The are approximately 39% of world operating capacity as well well as 32% of global phosphate trade (4.6MMT per year).  Doesn't matter what market you work in, if you lose a third of available product, it is going to hurt.
So now we need to fear the falling domino's.  Countries that normally rely on China for their product will be forced elsewhere.  When the next area's demand steps forward, they will find product is tight because it has already been purchased and then will be forced elsewhere.  Then the pain comes....
India continues to fall far behind normal stockpiles/inventory levels
India is a BIG buyer of global phosphate and their stockpiles are way down.
A graphic made its way around the industry in the last couple weeks looking at Indian supplies.  In 2019 on Sept. 30, Indian stockpiles of DAP sat at 6.6MMT.  This year on the same date, stockpiles were only believed to be around 2.1MMT.
So now we have a situation where the worlds biggest exporter (China) has stopped exports (approximately 380KMT per month) and one of the worlds biggest importers (India) needs 4.5MMT to catch up.  That makes for some scary mathematics...
Market waits to see if we repeat 2008 demand or recent demand
To get a sense of what to expect this fall/spring season, we did some analysis of the 2007/08/09 period as it is the closest to today we have seen.  The results were scary:  32% demand destruction with most of the loss attributed to demand destruction.
Now, the phosphate market is waiting to see what the next few weeks bring.  If demand steps up strong as everyone looks to replace tons that are sold, the answer will be clear.  The same if that demand does not step up.  
Unfortunately, in the event that demand is not good, we are not likely to see the big downside we would like.  Producers should have plenty of export options on December 1st.
Where are current values in relation to the past
For DAP, we use NOLA/New Orleans Louisiana as our base point as it is the easiest spot to track.
  • Vs 30 days ago - (2.5%) or approximately $17 lower
  • Vs 90 days ago - +12% or approximately $73 higher
  • Vs 6 months ago - +21% or approximately $118 higher
  • Vs 1 year ago - +47% or approximately $316 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
  • China continues to restrict exports – as long as they remain out of the world market, supplies will suffer.  As long as supplies suffer, so to will prices.
  • Russia could follow China 's approach and restrict their exports – this doesn't seem as likely but we cannot fully discount it either.  If we lose Russian imports on top of Chinese exports, watch out.
  • Big yields usually means big nutrient replacements are needed – I know that not everyone is in this camp.  There are a lot of acres that struggled thru a bad drought this year.  However, there are a lot of acres that are reporting really good yields.  That should mean a lot of P removed from the soil.  Hard to have another big yield next year if those nutrients are not replaced.
Bearish Factors
  • China can change VERY quickly – is this likely?  No.  Could it happen?  It's 2021, of course it could.  If we go from believing there will be no Chinese exports thru June '22 as they have said to getting major exports in a matter of weeks, the market will likely change very quickly.
  • A lot of acres have maintained very good P levels and could easily skip a year – this was seen back in 2008 when demand dropped 32%.  Drop enough demand and the market will be forced to take it into account.
  • Corn prices could fall – right now, we are enjoying watching Dec '22 corn values rise as that means good things for farmers going forward.  However, this can just as quickly turn around and start to plummet.  If values did drop, farmers would be forced to cut back on expenses and phosphate would be squarely in the crosshairs.
Where are the current phosphate/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 120 bushels to pay for 1 ton of DAP
  • Spend 80 bushels to pay for 1 ton of DAP
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 DAP 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.
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Josh Linville’s Thoughts
  • While the price of phosphates are really high, we are nowhere near the historically high values set in 2008.  Current NOLA values reside "around" $700 whereas in 2008, it was at $1,100.  If we are setting all of our bars to 2008, we have a lot of upside left...
  • If you are contemplating reducing or doing away with a phosphate application this cycle, think about the ramifications on a big picture POV.  If you scale back your P application rates, it will save you money.  However, if your yield loss results in even more money lost, you just made a bad situation worse.  I'm not here to tell you what to do.  That's on you.  But please consider the full picture when making those decisions.
  • TALK TO YOUR SUPPLIER.  I've said this before and I'll continue saying it.  There are a lot of bad factors at play right now.  Inventories are lower than normal.  Logistics could struggle more than we have seen.  Just because you have gotten just in time loaded in the past DOES NOT mean you can pull it off this fall.  You will be far ahead if you have a conversation with your supplier about your intentions.  At least give them a fighting chance.
 
 
 
  • Fertilizers

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