Egypt's NCIC awards SOP sales tender

Egyptian SOP producer NCIC made awards against its 25 September sales tender for 2,000t of water-soluble SOP for loading by the end of October at $655-660/t fob equivalent.

It was likely to have been sold to the domestic market.

The sales tender marks the first time in two years that the Egyptian fertilizer producer had offered SOP for export. It was previously undergoing maintenance on some of its ovens and supplying to the domestic market exclusively.

NCIC said it is now operating at full capacity, producing both water-soluble and powdered SOP, at a capacity of 50 t/day.

SOP supply remains tight globally. The return of NCIC as well as the recent exports from Cinis Fertilizer's new 100,000 t/yr SOP plant in Sweden may relieve some pressure on water-soluble SOP availability in the coming months. But this additional supply may be offset by a potential reduction in European supply, where Mannheim producers are struggling to procure liquid sulphur for their operations.

By Nykole King