Argus has added a price for granular urea at Geelong in Australia to its weekly Nitrogen report. The price will bring transparency to local urea pricing in Australia, one of the world’s most important agricultural markets.
Geelong imports the most urea out of any Australian port and is the gateway to the Mallee and Wimmera cropping regions in the state of Victoria. The new price provides a cornerstone reference for urea across all of Australia, benefitting fertilizer importers and farmers with greater transparency.
The newly launched urea assessment will cover truck shipments from warehouses in Geelong of at least 10t.
Australia became entirely dependent on imports for urea in December 2022 after Incitec Pivot shut down its Gibson Island fertilizer plant in Brisbane, Queensland. Since then, urea imports have flooded into Australia. Urea imports over the January-August period this year surpassed record high levels in the whole of 2023. Exceptional grain output and favourable weather conditions led to Australia importing 3.35mn t of urea in the first eight months of the year, surpassing the 3.18mn t imported in the whole of 2023.
Australia imports urea from numerous sources in the Middle East and southeast Asia.
The fertilizer industry has seen dramatic changes in market dynamics, with challenges posed by policy and regulatory changes, political instability, conflicts and new macroeconomic realities. The drive towards energy transition and ambitious zero-carbon goals has also opened up the industry to new entrants and new opportunities.
It is more vital than ever for market participants to have the full picture – to capitalise on the opportunities and manage the risk of the challenges.
