Chinese DAP exports dropped by 15pc to 400,000t in January-February.
DAP shipments fell to 155,000t last month — less than half of February volumes last year, the latest trade data show. Pakistan was the largest recipient of Chinese DAP shipments at 97,000t over January-February.
Pakistani importers took 70,000t of Chinese DAP in February. Bangladesh imported 50,000t. India took no Chinese DAP over the frst two months of this year. Vietnamese imports of Chinese DAP halved in the frst two months compared with a year earlier with 27,000t in January and just 20,000t in February.
Exports to Indonesia remain flat on last year with 47,000t in January-February, but shipments to Thailand were down by 39pc to 32,000t in the period. And exports to Japan almost halved on last year to 18,000t, but 17,000t were shipped across the East China Sea last month. South Korean imports were on par with a year earlier at 16,000t in January-February.
Chinese producers sought to look further south in order to place larger DAP volumes. In Australasia, New Zealand received 40,000t of Chinese DAP, which is up from just 3,000t and 1,000t over the period in 2017 and 2016, respectively. New Zealand received 21,000t in February, the secondlargest amount of Chinese DAP imported last month. And Chinese exporters shipped 29,000t of DAP to Australia — up from just 6,000t in the frst two months of last year.
Domestic DAP prices are steady. Shipments to the northeast and northwest regions are nearly complete. Producers are now shipping production to the ports, it is estimated that there are over 400,000t of DAP. The MAP price fell further this week because of the weakening NPK market. Hubei producers are holding prices at Yn2,150-2,200/t ($342-350/t) ex-works for prills. Henan and Anhui producers cut the offer prices by Yn100/t in average. The granulated MAP price is still at Yn2,400/t ex-works in Hubei. The slow demand and the softened prices have made some players worried that the fertilizer price will drop further when the application season comes.
