DTN Retail Fertilizer Trends

Most Fertilizer Prices Continue Lower

Russ Quinn
By  Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter
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Starter fertilizer 10-34-0 was 12% lower compared to the prior month and had an average price of $759 per ton. (DTN chart)

OMAHA (DTN) -- Retail fertilizer prices continued their lower trend as five of the eight major products are cheaper compared to last month, according to locations tracked by DTN for the fourth week of October 2022.

Similar to last week, the only fertilizer up or down significantly was 10-34-0. DTN designates a significant move as anything 5% or more.

10-34-0 was 12% lower compared to the prior month, and the starter fertilizer had an average price of $759 per ton.

Four other fertilizers were just slightly lower. DAP had an average price of $930/ton, MAP $986/ton, potash $862/ton and UAN28 $580/ton.

The remaining three fertilizers were slightly more expensive looking back to last month. Urea had an average price of $827/ton, anhydrous $1,422/ton and UAN32 $678/ton.

On a price per pound of nitrogen basis, the average urea price was at $0.90/lb.N, anhydrous $0.87/lb.N, UAN28 $1.04/lb.N and UAN32 $1.06/lb.N.

European fertilizer manufacturers are restarting fertilizer production on the continent due to the recent sharp fall in natural gas prices, according to Dow Jones.

Yara International ASA, one of the world's largest fertilizer companies, announced recently it was now operating at 65% of its European ammonia capacity. This came after the company cut output to just over one-third of its total capacity for much of the second half of 2022.

Commodity research firm CRU International Ltd. said Yara's moves are in line with other European fertilizer producers in recent weeks. European fertilizer output is now at about 63% of total capacity compared to 37% at the beginning of October, according to CRU.

Gas prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks due in part to milder temperatures and fuller-than-average gas storage facilities. Fertilizer manufacturers could not make the higher natural gas prices work, so they just stopped making fertilizer until recent weeks.

While some production is coming back online, all is not well in fertilizer production. Natural gas prices are still much higher than before the war in Ukraine, which threatens to keep a lid on production for some time to come, according to Chris Lawson, head of fertilizers at CRU.

"We're back to (price) levels seen at the same time last year, but they're still well above historical norms," Lawson said.

Despite lower prices in recent months, all fertilizers continue to be considerably higher in price than one year earlier.

Urea is 10% higher, MAP is 13% more expensive, 10-34-0 is 14% higher, DAP is 15% more expensive, potash is 18% higher, UAN28 is 27% more expensive, UAN32 is 30% higher and anhydrous is 45% more expensive compared to last year.

DTN gathers fertilizer price bids from agriculture retailers each week to compile the DTN Fertilizer Index. DTN first began reporting data in November 2008.

In addition to national averages, MyDTN subscribers can access the full DTN Fertilizer Index, which includes state averages, here: https://www.mydtn.com/….

A new fertilizer facility is being built near Stanley, Wisconsin. You can read it here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Dry
Date Range DAP MAP POTASH UREA
Oct 25-29 2021 812 873 731 751
Nov 22-26 2021 830 915 775 868
Dec 20-24 2021 862 932 807 910
Jan 17-21 2022 863 932 807 916
Feb 14-18 2022 874 935 815 891
Mar 14-18 2022 970 1001 843 954
Apr 11-15 2022 1047 1071 875 1017
May 9-13 2022 1059 1083 881 1000
Jun 6-Jun 10 2022 1057 1077 880 977
Jul 4-8 2022 1038 1053 885 866
Aug 1-5 2022 1003 1036 883 812
Aug 29-Sep 2 2022 952 1022 877 804
Sep 26-30 2022 947 1005 874 812
Oct 24-28 2022 930 986 862 827
Liquid
Date Range 10-34-0 ANHYD UAN28 UAN32
Oct 25-29 2021 663 982 458 522
Nov 22-26 2021 755 1308 574 660
Dec 20-24 2021 791 1424 583 679
Jan 17-21 2022 800 1433 585 683
Feb 14-18 2022 837 1488 603 703
Mar 14-18 2022 876 1520 610 706
Apr 11-15 2022 906 1534 630 730
May 9-13 2022 906 1529 634 730
Jun 6-Jun 10 2022 905 1518 633 731
Jul 4-8 2022 904 1466 609 702
Aug 1-5 2022 892 1387 592 679
Aug 29-Sep 2 2022 866 1364 576 671
Sep 26-30 2022 861 1380 581 670
Oct 24-28 2022 759 1422 580 678

Russ Quinn can be reached at Russ.Quinn@dtn.com

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Russ Quinn