The dynamics of the water-soluble fertilizer market were discussed at New AG International’s Annual conference held in Berlin last year.

A panel discussion featuring Vatren Jurin, VP at DunhamTrimmer, Matthew O’Leary MD of water-soluble fertilizer trader Aquifert, and Simon Inglethorpe, Editor of Fertilizer International, CRU was chaired by New AG International’s Luke Hutson.

Despite seeing larger volumes of water-soluble products being shipped in bulk, O’Leary said he did not see the segment as a commodity owing to the variation in the number of producers, and the variability in obtaining an ex-works price and an FOB price.

“I suppose the other thing is the limited capacity of most manufacturers,” added O’Leary. “You won’t see a major producer either stock piling or having inventory…It’s mostly produced to-order as opposed to say a commodity business where the wheels are constantly turning.”

O’Leary said he had noticed a shift since the Covid pandemic with larger volumes being shipped in break bulk, such as 5,000-tonne shipments of calcium nitrate. Typically, water-soluble shipments would be in containers, often bagged.

“With that turn of events we have seen average cargo sizes increasing, particularly to Latin America. And to Spain as well, we’ll see the occasional two, three and 4,000 metric tonne shipment of calcium nitrate in big bags.”

Inglethorpe added a note of context with the conventional fertilizer market. “The narrative has been a market moving from volume to value, but we are still a commodity market. If you add DAP, MAP, urea, MOP, it’s north of 300 million tonnes.”

Evolution in formulation
Experienced agronomist Vatren Jurin, VP at DunhamTrimmer, was emphatic in seeing water-soluble fertilizers as a value-added product, noting that it can be a physical or chemical process giving the product the ability to be solubilised.

He stressed the evolution in formulation. “I remember in the early days when water-soluble fertilizers used to come in 50-pound bags or 25 pound. Now they come in super sacks. So they have evolved as an ingredient as well.”

The formulation of multi-nutrient products can bring a benefit to logistics too. Jurin shared his experience when the Mosaic product MicroEssentials first came on the market. At the time he was working for Brandt. “We used to have a sulphur bin, a MAP bin and suddenly we only have a MicroEssentials bin. So, the logistics alone were a great saving.”

Global pricing
When it comes to the pricing of water-solubles, the price reference is typically the commodity markets. “I would say it’s very hard to keep an elevated price in a water soluble if the nitrogen market is crashing,” said O’Leary. “The prices will generally track up a lot faster than they will track down, so we’ll a see a lag between.” In the case of calcium nitrate, the main driver of the price will be urea, explained O’Leary.

Regional variations
When it comes to the preferred formulation of water-solubles, there is a variation in markets. Some will supply the product in liquid form, others in solid, or dry form.

According to Jurin, North America tends to be liquid, while Brazil is dry. Dry has benefits in areas where there are frosts, he explained. Other markets are half and half. “Solubilising water-solubles, for better or worse, helps a retailer gain a few margin points.”

O’Leary added that dry requires the disposal of plastic bags and that can be a problem in some markets.

Vatren Jurin will be returning to the topic of the value-added fertilizer market when speaking at the 23rd New AG International Annual conference and exhibition in Bangkok, Thailand, 29 April – 1 May.
For the latest on the ag-tech market, from specialty fertilizers to biological inputs, join the 300+ delegates in Bangkok. Sign up here.

To read more about the dynamics of the water-soluble fertilizer markets, and hear more from Aquifert’s Matthew O’Leary, read our feature from our June/July 2023 issue of New AG International.