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Farmer Fertilizer Focus - UAN

By: Josh Linville, Vice President- Fertilizer

UAN (28% / 32%)
 
Josh Linville
Director - Fertilizer
What everyone wants to know first, what do we think will happen going forward
UAN looks pretty firm going forward...
The market came out of spring at near record low inventory levels meaning that most tanks across North America were either empty or very close.  This is a huge "win" for the producers.  They know that when the system is empty, that puts more of the negotiation power into their hands.  Lots of tanks to fill means they do not have to get desperate to sell.  
On top of that, we have the new anti-dumping/counter vailing duty case that was filed by CF which will throw normal import flows into the air.  It is very likely that Russian imports will cease until this case is complete with some in anticipating that they will have double or triple digit duties placed against them.  Trinidad/Tobago, the other region named in the duty case, might still bring imports but the volume levels are questionable.
Both of these combined means that North American production needs to ramp up UAN production (at the cost of urea production).  However, that only happens if producers are economically incentivized to do so (i.e. UAN must be a premium price to urea).  It is very hard to see prices faltering.
For the rest of the world outside North America, it becomes a very different story (except the EU who still has an anti-dumping duty rate against Trinidad/Tobago, Russia and the U.S.).  The remainder of world demand is about to become best friends with Russia and T&T!  They should be fighting for whatever scraps of demand that is left in the world which should mean lower pricing.
What has happened in the last 30 days?
An anti-dumping/counter vailing duty case has been filed by CF against Russia and Trinidad & Tobago produced UAN

This is something that we have discussed over the last several months.  One of our bigger bull factors has been the fear that this case would be filed.  Well, here we are.

CF made the news in filing this case against Russia (which was highly expected) as well as Trinidad & Tobago (which was a shock).  Anyone who watched the phosphate duty case knew that Russia was extremely likely to be named.  The legal precedent has already been set on that case.  All CF has to do is scribble out phosphate, write in UAN and they should be set.  However, many were surprised at the news that T&T were named as well.  That region is actually seen as one of the higher cost regions in the world.

Now we wait to see what happens.  The ITC will make their preliminary decision on or before August 13 on if they proceed with the case.  If they vote no, the case is closed.  If they vote yes, then the case proceeds and it will likely be Q1 '22 before we have the final answer.

This will be a huge disruption to normal import flows and, in theory, should pressure North American plants to produce more UAN than they have in years past to make up for that lack of imports.  You will be reading a lot more about this in the coming months as the final decision will go a long ways in determining how the UAN market looks overall.

Summer fill programs have begun

Producers have decided to not waste any time and go ahead in rolling out their summer fill programs for UAN.  The timing isn't really groundbreaking.  In fact, it is fairly normal.  The only surprise was that some (myself included) believed that they could wait longer this year with low ending spring inventories and the duty case putting almost all of the power in the hands of the producer.

If you haven't heard a price from your retailer, don't chew them a new one.  The summer fill programs have been very light on tons offered.  Producers are making sure to sell small layers at a time.  There is a bit of concern that there could be production difficulties but more, this approach means they can keep upward price pressure.

The battle for urea vs UAN production has now begun in North America
This duty case completely disrupts the past few years normal.  North American production plants had leaned more toward urea production in recent years.  Now, with imports likely to drop as a result of the ongoing case, that production rate will now start leaning more toward UAN again. 
This is not a change that happens because producers are feeling nice.  This happens because producers are economically incentivized to do so.  That means UAN needs to get back to being a premium priced product vs urea.  Once the producer sees a chance to make more money, they will turn the dial.
Where are current values in relation to the past
For UAN, we use NOLA/New Orleans Louisiana as our base point as it is the easiest spot to track.
  • Vs 30 days ago - +8% or approximately $23 higher
  • Vs 90 days ago - +3% or approximately $23 higher
  • Vs 6 months ago - +69% or approximately $124 higher
  • Vs 1 year ago - +158% or approximately $186 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
  • The ongoing anti-dumping/counter vailing duty case – this case is going to disrupt normal trade flows until it is either voted down (unlikely) or it expires (5 years from completion of the case).  UAN has been a discount vs urea in the last couple years as producers tried to stay ahead of urea demand.  Now, assuming the case proceeds, those same producers will need to see UAN values rise and stay high to meet demand that was normally taken care of by imports.
  • Low ending spring inventories = tighter than normal supplies – low ending inventories means that most UAN tanks are empty.  Producers are well aware of this fact and see it as a huge opportunity.  This gives them plenty of space to fill over the next several months and puts most of the negotiation power in their hands.  Buyers, unfortunately, feel that pressure as they have to secure a lot of tons to get filled before spring season and with logistics always questionable, they feel that they need to buy early and often.
  • UAN needs to remain a premium to urea to keep production rates high – in order to meet perceived demand for next spring and replace the import tons that will be shut out due to the duty case, North American producers will need to ramp up UAN production rates.  This will not happen just because.  Producers need to be economically incentivized (i.e. make more on UAN than they would urea) to make that switch.
Bearish Factors
  • Recent global urea weakness may spook UAN demand – on the bull section, we talked about how buyers feel the pressure to buy early.  That doesn't mean that they lose all sense of the market.  If global urea values were to continue falling thru the floor, UAN starts to feel very lonely at the top of the N source cost curve.  Make the spread to urea big enough and demand may start to dry up.
  • You (farmers) are likely seeing $0.60+/lb of actual N pricing for UAN – I really hope that you are not but given what I know, your cost is likely above or well above this value (kuddos if not!).  This will be a shock for many, especially when considering last years pricing.  UAN is a product that will not get applied for another 9 months.  Farm demand may push back at these levels until they are forced to make decisions in December/January for prepay purposes.
  • Anti-dumping/counter vailing duty case may not have the desired effect – the belief is that imports from Russia / Trinidad & Tobago will dry up following the announcement of the duty filing.  However, it isn't required that they dry up.  Importers may be willing to take the chance and continue bringing product to the U.S.  While unlikely, if this happened, the market could get a bit of a shock as it upsets the expected case scenario.
ARE WE BETTER OR WORSE OFF THAN WHERE WE WERE?
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 60 bushels to pay for 1 ton of UAN;
  • Spend 30 bushels to pay for 1 ton of UAN.
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 UAN 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 15519
image 15520
image 15521
 
 
 
Josh Linville’s Thoughts
  • These are some pretty lofty nitrogen values we are looking at today.  Heck, these are some pretty lofty grain/UAN ratio values we are looking at.  The problem is, that ratio can look A LOT WORSE.  If you lock up your UAN and the price of corn, for example, drops by $1/bushel (possible if the USDA ramps up the acres, yield is bigger than expected, Chinese demand ramps up, etc), today's ratio is going to look like a blessing.  
  • Use where we are today as a learning opportunity.  Last year at this time, corn prices were crop (for lack of a better description)!  However, the ratio was phenomenal and the best we have seen in years.  High grain prices does not always equate to a better market for you.  I'm like you.  I'm a bigger fan of $5 corn over $3 corn but we need to keep the big picture in mind.  
  • Farmers are a bit like a manufacturer.  You are trying to produce the most number of outputs for the least number of inputs.  It doesn't matter where prices are, just where that return lies....
 
 
  • Fertilizers

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