Nitrogen
Overview
The ease of urea availability east and west of Suez has shaped the current trade flows of this key nitrogen fertilizer. Despite challenges posed by energy prices and military conflicts, key import markets such as India, Australia, and Latin America remain robust. But structural oversupply and the role of China as a swing exporter have led to price volatility as this fast-moving market seeks equilibrium, more so during seasonally high-demand periods.
Our extensive nitrogen coverage includes prilled and granular urea, UAN, ammonium nitrate, and ammonium sulphate. Argus has many decades of experience covering the nitrogen market and incorporates our multi-commodity market expertise in key areas including ammonia and natural gas to provide the full market narrative.
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- Daily and weekly nitrogen price assessments, proprietary data and market commentary
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Latest nitrogen news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global nitrogen industry.
Australia turns to SE Asian urea on ME supply tightness
Australia turns to SE Asian urea on ME supply tightness
Sydney, 16 April (Argus) — Australia's federal government is turning to southeast Asia to secure fertilizer supply for the upcoming winter crop, given unprecedented supply and cost pressures caused by the US-Iran war. Australia's prime minister Anthony Albanese is travelling to Brunei and Malaysia on 14-17 April hoping to secure fertilizer supply. Australia imported 11pc and 10pc of its urea from Brunei and Malaysia, respectively, in 2025, trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show ( see graph ). "We're continuing to engage closely with countries in our region to support the flow of essential goods like petrol, diesel and fertilizer," Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong said on 13 April. The government is working to maintain a flow of essential goods between Australia and Brunei, including urea, Albanese said on 15 April in a shared statement with Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Brunei is not looking to introduce any export restrictions on fertilizer supply to Australia, Albanese said on the same day. Seeding for the winter crop typically starts around 25 April. Growers are considering shifting from standard crops such as wheat and canola to legumes or pulses, which require less fertilizer. Urea applications will need to be reduced for pre-seeding and top-dressing if the conflict continues, multiple suppliers said. Australia's urea imports usually peak in March-June, but the strait of Hormuz is effectively shut, limiting import origins. Australia imports around 60pc of its urea via the strait. Southeast Asia accounted for 32pc of Australia's urea imports in 2025, ABS data show. India issued a tender for 2.5mn t of urea on 4 April, with prices emerging at a substantial premium to other markets on 15 April and set to further tighten global availability. Southeast Asian producers contributed 346,000t of urea to India's last two tenders closing on 20 November and 2 January, which totalled 2.5mn t. Southeast Asia typically exports around 5mn t/yr of urea, spread across Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam. Key suppliers from the region include Malaysia's Petronas, and Brunei Fertilizer Industries. Total production was 13.5mn t in 2025, while regional demand was about 8.15mn t, Argus analytics show. Indonesia remains a major urea producer within the region, with capacity of 9.4mn t/yr, primarily driven by state-owned Pupuk Indonesia. But a substantial portion of this output is positioned for the domestic market. Meanwhile, Vietnam is mostly a strategic exporter of urea, with around 2.5mn t/yr of urea production and 1.8mn t/yr of domestic urea requirement. But its export patterns tend to be price elastic. Spikes in international prices typically encourage Vietnamese producers to re-enter the export market. Shipments from Indonesia and Vietnam into Australia are usually characterised by spot purchases, rather than consistent cargo flows or contractual deliveries. Australia's federal government is creating a Fertilizer Supply Working Group to strengthen fertilizer availability. But multiple suppliers have yet to hear details of this support, Argus was told. Argus last assessed granular urea at $780-850/t fob southeast Asia on 9 April, up from $484-498/t fob southeast Asia on 26 February before the war began ( see graph ). By Susannah Cornford and Dinise Chng Southeast Asia urea prices ($/t) Australia urea imports (mn t) Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Egypt’s NCIC issues tender to sell various fertilizers
Egypt’s NCIC issues tender to sell various fertilizers
London, 15 April (Argus) — Egyptian fertilizer producer NCIC has issued a second tender to sell various fertilizers for loading in April. The tender closes on 20 April. NCIC is offering the following in the tender: 20,000t of DAP — it sold 10,000t of DAP at $840/t fob in its 4 April tender 10,000t of TSP — it sold 10,000t at $618/t fob in its 4 March tender 15,000t of SSP — it sold 25,000t at $375/t fob in its 4 April tender 10,000t of urea — it sold 10,000t at $654/t fob in its 4 March tender. Argus last assessed Egyptian urea at $790-820/t fob for European markets 5,000t of CAN26 — it sold 15,000t at $352/t fob in its 4 March tender 1,000t of water-soluble SOP — it sold 1,200t at $620-630/t fob in its 15 March tender The cargoes are to be priced on a bulk fob basis, apart from the SOP, which will be sold ex-works from NCIC's Fayoum plant in 25kg bags. If the buyer does not load the cargo after 27 days from the issuance of the pro forma invoice, NCIC will cancel the shipment. Offers are to be valid for two weeks from the tender closing date. By Tom Hampson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Urea market takes cautious look at US-Iran ceasefire
Urea market takes cautious look at US-Iran ceasefire
Amsterdam, 8 April (Argus) — The reaction in the physical urea markets to the two-week US-Iran ceasefire has been muted so far, but downwards pressure is building, with US urea futures trading down by more than 6pc earlier today . Some traders have portrayed the last-minute deal as "fragile" but also acknowledge that buyers will be looking to pressure prices down after five weeks of soaring levels. Traders appear to be taking a cautious approach while the market determines exactly how much urea has been lost since the hostilities began on 28 February, and how quickly affected plants and Middle East exports can resume in earnest. The global markets are still short despite demand destruction in almost all markets apart from India, according to one veteran trader, and only the resumption of Chinese exports can bring the market back to a "comfort zone". The urea market has seen more than 2mn t of production cut, Argus estimates, while there are vessels carrying around 1mn t of urea in the Mideast Gulf, Kpler data show. The final figure floating in the Gulf could be higher should vessels have disabled their automatic identification systems. None of those vessels have traversed the strait of Hormuz so far on 8 April, according to Kpler. Argus estimates conservatively that at least 2.3mn t of urea production has been cut since the war began, with major outages in India, Iran, Bangladesh, Qatar and Russia. By Harry Minihan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Malaysia's Petronas takes Bintulu urea plant offline
Malaysia's Petronas takes Bintulu urea plant offline
Singapore, 6 April (Argus) — Malaysian state-owned fertilizer producer Petronas has taken its 700,000 t/yr Bintulu urea plant offline, because of an unplanned shutdown caused by technical issues, the firm said today. The plant is expected to restart by the end of this week or early next week, although the producer is still assessing the situation. The outage is likely to remove around 2,000 t/d of urea output. Petronas had planned a 45-day turnaround at the Bintulu plant in April-May, but the scheduled maintenance may be delayed as a result of the unplanned shutdown. By Dinise Chng Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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