US ammonia season still slowed by midwest rain

23 April 2008 21:03  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Prolonged wet weather in the US midwest was keeping spring fertilizer application on a slow track and backing up the supply chain to the US Gulf, market sources said on Wednesday.

"We get started up, and then it rains and we have to stop again," an ammonia distributor said.

Only 4% of the main corn crop had been planted by 20 April, compared with 2% a week earlier and an average 17% for the same period in the five previous years, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The weekly USDA assessment measures progress in 18 key states that planted 91% of the corn acreage in 2007.

"Spring fieldwork largely remained on hold last week in a broad region centred on Iowa and Missouri," USDA said.

"But mostly dry weather permitted producers to just start planting corn in a few better-drained sections of the eastern corn belt," it said.

"Dry weather also prevailed in the upper Midwest, although low soil temperatures substantially limited planting progress," USDA said.

Market sources said that because ammonia storage tanks were full along the supply chain, product has backed up and there has been no trading in New Orleans.

Barge ammonia in New Orleans has been assessed steady since 28 February at $610/short ton ($672/tonne or €423/tonne) by global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

Current weather forecasts for Iowa, the heart of the US corn belt, predicted up to 80% chance of thunderstorms in the next few days with mostly drier weather on Saturday.

But there would be a 30-40% chance of rain and possibly snow starting from Sunday and into the early part of next week.

($1 = €0.63)

For more on ammonia visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Stephen Burns
+1 713 525 2653

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