Sulfur Prices Skyrocket by 260 Yuan! Cost of Monoammonium Phosphate Soars, Market in Wait-and-See Mode

Recently, the price of raw sulfur has continued to rise significantly, and both imported and domestic products have shown a remarkable growth trend. Up to now, the price of sulfur at the Yangtze River port has risen by 260 yuan/ton from the beginning of the month, the domestic general price has also increased by 150 yuan/ton, and the refinery bidding price has continued to rise. The sharp fluctuation of sulfur price has become the focus of the industry, resulting in the production cost of mono-ammonium phosphate continues to rise. Although the quotation of some mono-ammonium phosphate has increased, downstream compound fertilizer enterprises only purchase according to actual demand, resulting in limited demand support. Therefore, the price increase of mono-ammonium phosphate is not significant, the factory price of 55 powder in central China is maintained at 3150 to 3200 yuan/ton, the high-end market acceptance is low, and the follow-up of new orders is general.

Since November, sulphur prices have been rising rapidly and show no signs of slowing. At present, the price of sulfur particles in the Yangtze River port has reached 1565 yuan/ton, an increase of 19.92% compared with the beginning of the month, an increase of 63.87% year-on-year, and the significant increase in price has caused widespread concern. The main driving force of this round of price rises comes from the continued rise in the price of the US dollar, there is news that the bidding price of Qatar has been close to FOB170 US dollars/ton, this news has further stimulated the enthusiasm of some traders, and the terminal market also has the gradual release of the buying intention of the inquiry. Under the joint action of both ends of the market supply and demand, the scarcity of goods has been further aggravated, and the holders have generally adopted the strategy of covering the stock and reluctant to sell, and the market has gone up, becoming one of the most popular focuses in the current market.

At present, the downstream compound fertilizer market is in the traditional winter reserve fertilizer stage, the new quotation formulation and advance collection work is in progress, and the overall market atmosphere shows a positive operating trend. The winter storage and advance business of compound fertilizer enterprises is steadily advancing, and it is worth noting that the number of sulfur based products with low prices or at a low-end level in some enterprises is decreasing. At the same time, many compound fertilizer enterprises have continuously held ordering meetings to release winter storage policies and the latest product price information, some of which are more obvious policy preferences. However, the price of ammonium phosphate and potash fertilizer is strong, and the support of the cost side limits the space for profit, and the overall market activity has increased.

Mono-ammonium phosphate winter storage market is mainly concentrated in the northeast region, the current demand for mono-ammonium phosphate has followed up. Some downstream compound fertilizer production enterprises have started, based on the production just need to purchase raw materials, spot demand increased, the price increased slightly. Among them, the price of 55% powder port in Bayuquan is close to 3,300 yuan/ton. In addition, there is news that individual factories launched bidding activities for 58 powder, and the market trading atmosphere has improved slightly compared with the previous period. However, it is mainly large factories that are replenishing raw material inventories, and small factories are adopting a strategy of buying as they go. In view of the long-term low food prices, as well as the impact of the "high open low" market of fertilizer prices in previous years, downstream enterprises are cautious in raw material procurement, and prudently stock up according to their own conditions.

The recent sharp rise in the market of raw sulfur has led to a substantial increase in the theoretical production cost of mono-ammonium phosphate, and the price of phosphate rock and sulfuric acid is also high, which also has cost support. However, the overall demand situation of the downstream compound fertilizer market is relatively light, the winter storage demand is slowly promoted, the willingness to chase up the procurement is extremely cautious, the market is generally wait-and-see, and dare not easily stockpile goods. This cautious market atmosphere makes the rise in the price of monoammonium phosphate blocked, it is difficult to achieve a large increase in the short term, and it is still necessary to pay close attention to the change in the procurement rhythm of downstream compound fertilizer factories.