Yara International ASA reports strong second quarter results boasting a 21% increase in fertilizer deliveries over the quarter. Urea sales to Brazil, North America and the Mediterranean region increased 42% while deliveries of NPK complexes were up 30%, and increased nitrite movement reflected higher European sales. In fact, deliveries for all main groups of product out of Yara were all generally higher.
“Yara reports a strong second quarter with record deliveries,” said Jørgen Ole Haslestad, President and Chief Executive Officer in Yara. “While we have seen a considerable price decline for urea - almost 30% - our value-added product prices are broadly in line with a year ago, as continued strong food prices motivate farmers to optimize productivity with higher-efficiency fertilizer.”
Fertilizer prices are on a gradual downward path, but prices remain favorable for producers upstream suggesting world market demand will find plenty of fertilizer available. Given the generous supply situation and lagging U.S. corn futures, fertilizer pricing may be forced lower by the expectation that fertilizer purchases follow corn prices. At the very least, these results suggest the rest of the world will be well supplied, potentially unlocking added downside action for fertilizer pricing in North America.
