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Egypt’s NCIC sells SSP/SOP higher in tender

  • Market: Fertilizers
  • 17/03/26

Egyptian producer NCIC has confirmed the following awards in its latest tender to sell fertilizers for loading this month, which closed on 15 March:

  • 25,000t of SSP at $335/t fob to one buyer — the full quantity offered in the tender
  • 1,200t of SOP at $620-630/t fob — NCIC offered 1,500t in the tender

The SSP contains 20.8pc total P2O5 on a dry basis — Argus understands that NCIC's SSP contains maximum 4pc moisture — and 16.44pc water soluble P2O5 on a dry basis, according to analysis as of 15 March.

The awarded price for the SSP marks a substantial increase from fellow producer Efic's sale of 35,000t of a comparable grade of SSP — around 19pc citrate soluble P2O5 — at $255/t fob Egypt in early March for shipment in April.

NCIC has confirmed that the SSP is destined for Brazil. The war in the Middle East has supported oil prices and pushed up freight from Egypt to Brazil to $30-35/t for a 30,000-35,000t bulk cargo. The awarded price probably nets forward to $365-370/t cfr Brazil, far above the latest assessments of $280-290/t cfr for 19pc SSP and $300-320/t cfr for 20pc SSP.

The SOP is probably water-soluble and is packed in 25kg bags. The awarded price is significantly higher than NCIC's previous sale of 500t of water-soluble SOP at $575/t fob under its 19 February tender.

By Tom Hampson

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16/03/26

EU foreign ministers to discuss Hormuz options: Update

EU foreign ministers to discuss Hormuz options: Update

Adds German defence minister comments in paragraph 8 London, 16 March (Argus) — EU foreign ministers will today discuss ways of keeping the strait of Hormuz open, although there appear to be no positive responses to US president Donald Trump's plea for naval help. "The main topic [of today's meeting] will be how to keep the strait of Hormuz open," EU high representative for foreign affairs Kaja Kallas said. She noted the bloc could change the mission of its regional naval security mission Aspides, and that there is a putative French-led initiative to secure traffic through the strait. "We… need to see what could be the fastest to provide this opening for the strait", Kallas said, noting the de facto closure is "really dangerous for the oil supplies" and "problematic for the fertilisers". "If there is lack of fertilisers this year, there is going to be also food deprivation next year," Kallas said. She said she discussed with UN secretary general Antonio Guterres about the possibility of an initiative like the one brokered to allow unimpeded movement of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. There appears to be limited appetite for sending warships to the Mideast Gulf to aid US operations there, which Trump called for at the weekend. "We will not be drawn into the wider war," UK prime minister Keir Starmer said today. "We're working with our allies including our European partners, to bring together a viable, collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as soon as possible." Germany's defence minister Boris Pistorius said today his country is prepared to tackle the Hormuz situation through diplomacy, but said "there will be no military involvement." UK-based bank Barclays today said Ice Brent crude prices could average $100/bl this year if the strait of Hormuz is not reopened in the coming four to six weeks. Its current price assumption, for an average of $85/bl, is based on traffic through the waterway normalising "in the next two to three weeks". By Ben Winkley Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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News

EU foreign ministers to discuss Hormuz options today

16/03/26
News
16/03/26

EU foreign ministers to discuss Hormuz options today

London, 16 March (Argus) — EU foreign ministers will today discuss ways of keeping the strait of Hormuz open, although there appear to be no positive responses to US president Donald Trump's plea for naval help. "The main topic [of today's meeting] will be how to keep the strait of Hormuz open," EU high representative for foreign affairs Kaja Kallas said. She noted the bloc could change the mission of its regional naval security mission Aspides, and that there is a putative French-led initiative to secure traffic through the strait. "We… need to see what could be the fastest to provide this opening for the strait", Kallas said, noting the de facto closure is "really dangerous for the oil supplies" and "problematic for the fertilisers". "If there is lack of fertilisers this year, there is going to be also food deprivation next year," Kallas said. She said she discussed with UN secretary general Antonio Guterres about the possibility of an initiative like the one brokered to allow unimpeded movement of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. There appears to be limited appetite for sending warships to the Mideast Gulf to aid US operations there, as Trump called for at the weekend. "We will not be drawn into the wider war," UK prime minister Keir Starmer said today. "We're working with our allies including our European partners, to bring together a viable, collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as soon as possible." UK-based bank Barclays today said Ice Brent crude prices could average $100/bl this year if the strait of Hormuz is not reopened in the coming four to six weeks. Its current price assumption, for an average of $85/bl, is based on traffic through the waterway normalising "in the next two to three weeks." By Ben Winkley Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

US ag secretary seeking ways to curb fertilizer costs

13/03/26
News
13/03/26

US ag secretary seeking ways to curb fertilizer costs

Houston, 13 March (Argus) — US Secretary of Agriculture Brook Rollins said she is looking "at every potential avenue" to keep fertilizer costs down ahead of the spring season in response to surging nitrogen costs resulting from the war in the Middle East. "We are very close to having an announcement on some solutions," Rollins said. "Events around the world are impacting our farmers, but as the president has said: we expect that to resolve itself pretty quickly." Prices of nitrogen fertilizers such as urea, urea ammonium nitrate and ammonia have soared over the past two weeks following the outbreak of the war between the US-Israel and Iran. Urea prices at the New Orleans port have jumped nearly $155/st from pre-war levels. Prices continue to climb quickly, with first-half April barges rising from $585/st fob on 6 March to $645/st fob on Friday. Rollins added that most growers have already booked their fertilizer needs for this year and about 25pc have not. Nitrogen buying was pushed to later in the season as farmers and distributors weighed price uncertainty and weak corn margins, a delay that left some buyers exposed when prices climbed after the conflict. Rollins did not outline any specific policy measures under consideration but said she is working with lawmakers to secure additional funding for farmers. The USDA rolled out its latest farm-aid package in December 2025, with payments beginning to be issued at the end of February this year. The White House has demonstrated an ability to shift course on energy matters, recently floating options it had previously dismissed, including a potential crude export ban and a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Even if the US-Iran conflict concludes, impacts to supply will likely linger through the rest of the fertilizer year, distributors have said. Traders Friday said they were also doubtful and left confused as to what US president Donald Trump's administration could do to bring down fertilizer prices. By Calder Jett and Sneha Kumar Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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US senator presses CF on soaring nitrogen prices

13/03/26
News
13/03/26

US senator presses CF on soaring nitrogen prices

Houston, 13 March (Argus) — US Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) questioned whether US nitrogen producer CF Industries was "price gouging" or "manipulating market conditions" by raising prices in the wake of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, in a post on social media platform X on 12 March. In his letter, Hawley posed 12 questions to CF. "American farmers should not be forced to bankroll opportunistic pricing undercover of an overseas crisis. If your company is using this conflict as a pretext to raise prices beyond what market conditions justify, Congress will not ignore it", Hawley said. "American farmers cannot absorb another price shock." The price of urea at New Orleans has surged by roughly 30pc since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, with latest trade occurring at $630/short tonne (st) fob, further eroding the affordability of nitrogen fertilizer in the US. Urea's affordability — measured as a ratio of the price of corn to the price of urea — has reached its lowest level since November 2021. There is widespread talk of farmers opting to plant soybeans instead of corn and other nitrogen-intensive crops in parts of the US due to rising nitrogen costs. Rising farmer costs contributed to a 46pc increase in farmer bankruptcies in 2025 from 2024, according to advocacy group Farm Bureau. Financing has been harder to come by the last year as well, according to fertilizer distributors. But some distributors believe that Hawley misunderstands the market by taking aim at producers like CF in the current environment even considering these "very tough times for farmers". "The letter seems performative — [He's] playing the hero of the farmer without understanding the drivers of what really makes the market run," one trader said "The US was already behind the eight-ball on spring tonnage based on imports and production outages, and now we are trading in a global market where we are having to compete with other destination markets for tons." "Until policymakers fully recognize that fertilizer is traded within a global market, we are likely to continue seeing these kinds [of] misunderstandings," another trader chimed in. CF did not respond to a request for comment on the letter. The US imports almost half of its urea consumption each year. Currently, the US market sits at a discount to the global market, weighed down by robust March imports and buyer hesitancy. Buyers are waiting as long as they can to buy before spring applications take off in April. But the US is at risk of not receiving key supplies from the Middle East if the strait of Hormuz remains unpassable. Meanwhile, production in Qatar, the source of about a fifth of US imports, is off line . Meanwhile, the absence of Qatari LNG imports has increased the cost of natural gas — nitrogen's primary feedstock — and caused India to cut urea production , leading the market to believe the country will look to buy soon, potentially tightening what is left of the global urea market even further. Fertilizer markets have been looked at with increasing scrutiny over the past year by US government officials and lawmakers. An investigation of market concentration across agricultural inputs including seed and fertilizer is under way by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. Potash and phosphate markets have garnered attention as well. USDA deputy secretary Stephen Vaden said last week that North American fertilizer producers Nutrien and Mosaic are engaging in "duopoly" behavior. He also said he is hopeful that countervailing duties on phosphate imports that have increased the price of phosphates for US farmers will be lifted following a sunset review of the trade barriers by the Department of Commerce. By Calder Jett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

News

Southeast Asian granular urea sold at around $710/t fob

13/03/26
News
13/03/26

Southeast Asian granular urea sold at around $710/t fob

Amsterdam, 13 March (Argus) — Bruneian fertilizer producer BFI is understood to have sold 6,000t of granular urea at around $710/t fob following its tender on 12 March. The cargo is set to load from the end of May to the first half of April. BFI had offered two lots of 6,000t of granular urea under the tender. Traders had expected bids to emerge up to around $700/t fob before the tender's close. There is a marked differential between smaller and larger cargoes in the region, with cargoes of around 25,000-30,000t or more commanding premium prices given the option to ship to Australia. Prices for larger lots have pushed up to around $750/t fob southeast Asia basis levels in Australia, a price with which buyers in local southeast Asian markets are not able to compete. The ongoing war in the Middle East, and the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz, has left Australia particularly vulnerable, given that it is entering its peak import months for urea ahead of its winter season. Australia typically imports about two-thirds of its urea from the Middle East, with Oman now the only option to buy from in the region. A lack of availability of urea from Indonesia and China is compounding the tightness in Asia-Pacific, leaving buyers to source what they can from Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam. Australian local urea prices are up by at least 45pc on pre-war levels, with prices hitting A$1,200/t ($1,377/t) fca Geelong this week. By Harry Minihan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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