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1. Taiwan’s TFC targets mid-July NPK start-up

Taiwan Fertilizer Company (TFC) aims to begin commercial production in mid-July at its new 170,000 t/yr NPK unit in Taichung.

TFC began testing at the unit earlier this month and is awaiting a government licence. The firm hopes to begin commercial production by 15-16 July.

The unit will produce nitrophosphate-based NPKs, including 20-5-10, 11-5.5-22 and 15-15-15. Half the output will be for the domestic market and half for export, although different grades might be manufactured for export depending on demand.

TFC already has three units in Taichung producing a combined 500,000 t/yr of NPKs, all for the domestic market.

2. Zuari plans sale of Goa fertilizer units to India’s PPL

Indian fertilizer producer Zuari Agro Chemicals has announced the sale of its NPK, DAP and urea plants in Goa to partner company Paradeep Phosphates (PPL) for $280mn, according to a filing on the National Stock Exchange.

Zuari's NPK A plant in Zuarinagar, Goa, can produce 400,000 t/yr of NPK and 372,000 t/yr of DAP and is currently operating at around 50pc capacity. It also has a 400,000 t/yr urea plant in Zuarinagar, which is operating at full rates.

PPL produces and markets a range of phosphate-based fertilizers, with the Goa deal set to give it access to nitrogen supplies.

Zuari and PPL are part of Indian conglomerate Adventz group. The Indian government holds a 19.55pc share in PPL, while Zuari Maroc Phosphates — a joint venture between Zuari and Maroc Phosphore — owns an 80.45pc stake. Maroc Phosphore is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Moroccan major OCP.

Zuari has shut its NPK A plant several times this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It stopped production on 24 March to comply with lockdown measures and restarted a month later. It was shut again in May for 10 days because of a lack of bagging material.

Zuari's board has also approved a $46.5mn investment from OCP in Zuari's wholly-owned subsidiary Zuari Farmhub. The two firms signed an initial agreement in November last year.

The sale of Zuari's Goa plants is subject to approval by shareholders and regulators.
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3. Thailand’s NPK imports fall back in May

Thailand's NPK imports in May fell by 16pc from a year earlier in response to higher purchases in April and lower than expected seasonal rainfall.

The monsoon season typically starts in May but rainfall this year is 5pc lower than normal and has reduced domestic demand for fertilizer.

Thailand imported 85,513t of NPKs in May, according to latest GTT data. Finland represented by producer Yara, replaced Russia as the largest supplier for the month by delivering 35,930t, up by almost fivefold from a year earlier. Shipments from Russia fell by 39pc to 27,367t. Receipts from Germany rose to 16,127t from 60t last May.

Thailand's January-May imports were down by 22pc to 356,027t, given the lower volumes in the first quarter. Russia remained the largest supplier during this period but its deliveries fell by 39pc to 172,410t. Russian export availability for NPKs was low in the first quarter as producers allocated most of their output to the domestic market because of firmer domestic demand. Shipments from Norway accounted for 89,102t of total deliveries, down by 32pc. But deliveries from Finland were up nearly fourfold to 41,923t.

Thailand's NP/NPS imports in May also fell by 20pc from the previous year to 106,359t, largely because of a fall in Chinese deliveries to 73,150t from 103,272t in May 2019. This was probably because of limited export availability from China as a result of reduced production with the Covid-19 pandemic. Shipments from South Korea remained largely flat at 27,197t compared with 28,300t in May 2019.

The fall in May imports pulled down January-May volumes by 24pc to 337,954t. Deliveries from China, which accounted for 59pc of total imports, fell by 21pc to 200,638t. Shipments from South Korea accounted for 81,529t, half of the imports a year earlier. Russia supplied 35,036t compared with 491t a year earlier.

Thai NPK imports by origin 2020 ('000t)