Urea: RCF India announces fresh purchasing tender for shipments to 5 March

Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCF) has issued a purchasing tender to close 23 January for shipments to Indian ports by 5 March.

Tender documents state that the agency is targeting 500,000t on the east coast and 1m. tonnes for the west coast, although this is “subject to revision based on the final outcome of the tender.”

The figure is in line with the volume targeted in the earlier NFL tender through which just 187,000t were secured for the west coast.

Indeed, the target appears ambitious given the shipment window. Earlier reports had suggested the shipment window may extend through to end-March.

Offers in the latest tender are to be valid until 31 January.

The widely anticipated development is welcome news to producers and regular suppliers. As noted in Profercy’s prior coverage, India is rarely in the market for February shipments of urea.

Many suppliers had held back tonnes from the 19 December NFL inquiry in the hope of better returns elsewhere and a possible retender. That inquiry saw four Middle East cargoes placed at $369.75pt cfr west coast. No volumes were secured for the east coast at that time owing to an unworkable east coast offer of $299pt cfr being submitted in error.

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