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Large amount of diammonium phosphate ready for shipment; price increases likely. Author/Source: China Fertilizer Network. Date: 2020-10-09. Clicks: 24. Although the price of diammonium phosphate has not risen sharply recently, it has been increasing steadily. The sales period for this product in factories during autumn is coming to an end. In regions such as North China, the average price of 64% diammonium phosphate at delivery points is 2,550 yuan per ton. Although overall demand in the autumn market is relatively low, international demand for diammonium phosphate has been strong since June this year, leading to higher offshore prices. According to customs data, total exports of diammonium phosphate in August reached 800,000 tons. Currently, domestic manufacturers produce between 1.2 and 1.4 million tons per month, accounting for more than half of their total output. Many companies still have goods ready for export, and some have orders scheduled until November. As a result, some companies in the Northeast region have begun to set prices for winter storage. At present, the premium price of 64% diammonium phosphate in Heilongjiang Province is 2,700 yuan per ton. Although transactions are few, with National Day approaching, winter storage of diammonium phosphate is about to begin. Some industry experts believe that prices may continue to rise in the future. The main reasons for this are as follows: Firstly, there is a relatively large amount of goods ready for shipment, and companies are quite proactive in taking action. At present, most diammonium phosphate factories in Hubei still have export orders pending shipment. Although they have a geographical advantage over enterprises in the northwest region when supplying the northeast market, driven by the export market, some of these enterprises may face shortages for the first batch of winter storage supplies. It is expected that supply levels over the next two months will be lower than those in the same period last year, giving factories more control over pricing, which could lead to price increases. Secondly, the inventory levels carried over in regions such as the Northeast are relatively low. This year, due to the impact of the pandemic, the shipment and purchasing of fertilizers in regions such as the Northeast and Northwest have been affected to some extent. After the spring sales period ended, there was less inventory left in these regions; in some areas, the inventory was even zero. The previously sluggish downstream market at the end of the year has seen a change this time, with some distributors starting to make purchases in advance as early as October. There has been a noticeable change in supply and demand compared to last year, and as a result, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate manufacturers have seen an increase in the overall price of urea. Finally, the overall operational rate of enterprises is not very high. Although environmental regulations have a relatively modest impact on the operational capacity of diammonium phosphate plants, equipment limitations mean that most of these plants cannot operate at full capacity. Additionally, some companies use their facilities to produce other types of fertilizers such as compound fertilizers and monoammonium phosphate, which further prevents diammonium phosphate plants from reaching full production levels year-round. As a result, the supply of diammonium phosphate in the domestic market is limited, leading to higher prices. In summary, during the National Day holiday, the supply of diammonium phosphate in the market remained stable for the time being; market demand was satisfactory, there were many orders pending for export, while domestic inventory levels were relatively low. Purchasing activity among downstream users continued at a decent pace. It is expected that after the phosphorus compound fertilizer conference, the pricing for winter storage of diammonium phosphate will gradually become clearer, with further increases in prices still possible.