China's fertilizer exports increased in September compared with a year earlier, led by higher shipments of urea, NPKs and ammonium sulphate (amsul).
Fertilizer exports rose by 4pc from a year earlier to 2.55mn t in September, and were in line with shipments in August, according to the latest customs data.
China exported 545,849t of urea last month compared with 190,856t during September last year. A sharp increase in shipments to supply Indian demand contributed to the big year-on-year rise, with exports to India increasing to 238,634t from only 1,226t in September last year.
NPK exports rose to 130,790t in September from 35,638t in September last year, supported by higher shipments to Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines and Mozambique.
Amsul exports remained strong at 610,110t in September, up by 6pc from a year earlier.
The increases in urea, NPK and amsul offset declines in phosphate fertilizer shipments. China exported 704,304t of DAP last month, down by 15pc from September 2018 as a result of lower shipments to India, although exports to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia increased.
MAP exports dropped to 161,569t in September, down by 36pc from a year earlier, driven by a notable reduction in shipments to South America, including Brazil and Argentina. Increasing competition is reducing the market share of Chinese MAP in these markets.
China exported 20.69mn t of fertilizers in the first three quarters of 2019, up by 22pc from the same period in 2018.
Chinese January-September urea exports almost tripled from the same period a year earlier, rising to 3.24mn t from 1.13mn t. Chinese amsul exports rose to 5.15mn t from 4.92mn t, and NPK exports rose to 773,749t from 254,523t over the same period. Chinese MAP exports increased by 15pc from a year earlier to 2.05mn t in January-September, but DAP exports fell by 0.4pc over the same period to 4.83mn t.
