In order to meet the fertilizer demand for the 2023-24 soybean crop, Brazil increased the price of mono-ammonium phosphate (11-52) in the national import market and Parana state by 12 percent, more than the monthly increase of 6 percent in the Mato Grosso state market, where most farmers' needs have been purchased.
Parana is the second largest soybean producing state after Mato Grosso, and the state is close to the port of Paranagua, a major entry hub for Brazilian fertilizer imports. At the beginning of August, about 20% of the fertilizer needed for the 2023-24 soybean crop in Parana had not yet been purchased, and as the demand for fertilizer recovered, the price of fertilizer increased by $65 / ton locally and $58 / ton in the import market.
The data show that about 389,600 metric tons of mono-ammonium phosphate were unloaded at Brazilian ports in August, lower than the monthly average of 405,570 tons imported in January-July. Since most of the fertilizer demand in Mato Grosso was met in August, market players in the state focused on fertilizer delivery with the start of planting in September in mind. In mid-August, about 4% of demand in Mato Grosso had not yet been purchased.
In the first week of August, due to demand for future deliveries, the price of monoammonium phosphate (11-52) increased by $18 / ton to $640-645 / ton FOB Rondonopolis. It is estimated that 10% of the fertilizers required for the 2024-25 cycle have already been traded. That month, the price of mono-ammonium phosphate in Rondonopolis increased by $40 / ton.
Potassium chloride prices vary unevenly compared to imported and inland prices. At the end of August, Brazil's import price rose to $360 / t CFR from $352 / t CFR in the last week of July. The trend was similar in Mato Grosso, where FOB Rondonopolis rose $33 / t to $508 / t. On the other hand, the FOB price of Paranagua fell by $9 / t to $420 / t.
