IFA '10: China producers oversold DAP into India - major trader

02 June 2010 17:53  [Source: ICIS news]

PARIS (ICIS news)--Chinese producers, variously estimated to have sold 900,000-1.3m tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) into India during 2010, have oversold and may only ship 1m tonnes during the first low-export-tax window, said a major trader on Wednesday.

"It's a mess", said the trader from the sidelines of the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) annual conference taking place in Paris, arguing that some traders had sold short without being covered by Chinese producers, while some of the tonnage supposedly booked was being sourced from second-tier producers and lacking in quality.

The trader said that the major Chinese producers he had spoken to agreed with this assessment.

"[The] maximum the Chinese can export [is] 250,000-300,000 tonnes a month" during the low-export-tax window that runs from June to August, said the trader.

"And that's if it does not rain," the trader added.

The trader also said that there were a host of logistical problems that could delay shipments. Pakistan had already stepped into the DAP market to source product from Morocco because prompt arrival could not be guaranteed from China.

The IFA conference runs from 31 May to 2 June.

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By: Mike Nash
+44 20 8652 3214

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