Brazil's seaport arrivals of NP/NPS up 15pc in Jan-July

Seaborne arrivals of NP/NPS products to Brazil during January-July are set to be 15pc higher on the year at around 1.1mn t, thanks in part to tight MAP supply.

NP/NPS deliveries during the period have primarily come from China with 449,000t, while deliveries from Russia have amounted to 366,000t and the US 312,000t.

Chinese MAP exports have been limited, while the US and European markets have drawn in product from other origins, supporting elevated prices.

The combination of limited MAP supply and high prices for the product that was available forced Brazilian buyers to look for alternative — and more affordable — sources of phosphate nutrient, resulting in a rise in NP/NPS arrivals.

Brazil — which primarily uses blended complex fertilizers — is expected to receive 426,800t of seaborne compound NP/NPS in July, according to provisional line-up data from forwarding agents, up by 179pc on July 2023.

But the overall quantity of complex-fertilizer arrivals in January-July is in line with last year at 1.5mn t — with July data again provisional only.

The highest monthly volume of NP/NPS seaborne arrivals to Brazil — since Argus began monitoring such cargoes in January 2019 — was 450,000t in September 2023.

By Nykole King