International ammonium sulfate (AS) market

China

The caprolactam grade price is $110-113/tonne FOB, and producers are reluctant to cut prices due to increased demand. The announced FOB price is $106-108/ton, but so far there is no transaction report for this price.

The price of steel grade AS remains unchanged, EXW 500 yuan / ton, equivalent to US$74 / ton. In the coming weeks, China's domestic market and Southeast Asian demand will help support prices. China's demand for extruded pellets is rising and is negotiating volume for the April and May Brazilian procurement season.

In the coming months, many enterprise devices will be intensively overhauled, and supply will continue to decrease. Including Fujian Shenyuan from April to June, once Shenyuan resumed in June, Nanjing DSM will begin overhaul, and Xuyang will begin maintenance in April for a month. During this period. The production of caprolactam-grade AS will be reduced by about 200,000 tons.

Brazil

Suppliers have begun offering new prices for summer demand this week, but purchases are expected to start before May. The Chinese standard grade offer is about $140/ton CFR, but European sellers offer $145-147/ton CFR. China's extruded pellets are priced at $174-176/tonne CFR, with lower quality; the higher quality price is $180-185/tonne CFR. European producers are looking for pellets of about $190/tonne CFR.

China's AS will dominate the import of Brazil in 2019

Chinese AS is becoming more and more popular in Brazil. The latest data shows that the total import volume almost doubled in the first two months of 2019, from 332,464 tons in 2018 to now 617,711 tons. Delayed purchases during the 2019 safrinha (transgenic maize) period are considered to be the reason for the higher level of AS imports.

Among them, China supplied 429,000 tons, up from 201,000 tons in the same period last year. Imports also include (in the previous year in brackets): Belgium 86,000 tons (63,000 tons last year), the United States 55,000 tons (33,000 tons) and the Netherlands