Ammonium nitrate: Trading
What a tonne of AN costs, and India's import bill
What a tonne of AN costs, and India's import bill What this tab covers How it is bought and sold: buyers and sellers, price benchmarks and who publishes them, exchanges, contract types, traders, how Indian buyers price it, recent price points, and good sources to follow.Who buys, and where
- Brazilian distributors (largest importer, 1.2 Mt in 2024)
- Canadian, Peruvian and Indian mining explosives makers
- European co-operatives buying AN and CAN
Who sells, and from where
- Russian producers via Baltic and Black Sea ports
- US Gulf producers
- Lithuania (Achema), Georgia and Bulgaria
Price benchmarks
| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| AN FOB Baltic / Black Sea | Argus, CRU | spot, weekly |
| AN CFR Brazil | Argus, CRU | spot, weekly |
| CAN CIF Germany / NW Europe | Argus, ICIS | spot, weekly |
Exchanges
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| None liquid for AN | none | urea and UAN swaps on CME are used as nitrogen proxies |
Contract types
- Annual or multi-year technical AN supply contracts with explosives makers
- Spot fertiliser cargoes
- Domestic dealer sales in Europe
Traders and distributors
- Ameropa
- Koch Fertilizer
- Helm (indicative)
How Indian buyers price it
- Technical AN priced on import parity CFR India plus duty, under PESO import licences
- Domestic producers (Deepak/Smartchem, Chambal, RCF) sell on contracts to explosives makers such as Solar Industries (indicative)
- Not covered by fertiliser subsidy
Recent price points
| Date | Price | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 average | $424/t | world average export unit value | IndexBox (2025) |
| 2024 average | $442/t | world average import unit value | IndexBox (2025) |
| 2024 average | about $401/t | India import unit value ($164.5 million / 410 kt, derived) | UN Comtrade 2024, derived |
Good sources to follow
Nitrogen+Syngas (CRU BCInsight)paid research site · CRU GroupAN and nitric acid plants, markets and safety
IndexBox market overviewsfreemium research site · IndexBoxAN production and trade estimates
Fertilizer Dailyfree newsletter · independent fertiliser news sitenitrogen fertiliser prices and policy
IFA (International Fertilizer Association)freemium research site · global industry bodynitrogen supply and demand statistics