Urea: Trading
Indian tenders and Chinese quotas: the two swing forces
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
- India by state tender (IPL, NFL, RCF) for delivery to Indian ports
- Brazil through distributors ahead of soy and maize seasons
- US through NOLA barges and co-operatives
- Australia, Thailand, Turkey, France
Who sells, and from where
- Saudi Arabia (SABIC Agri-Nutrients), Qatar (QAFCO), Oman, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria (Dangote, Indorama)
- Russia
- China when quotas allow
- Malaysia, Indonesia
Price benchmarks
| Benchmark | Publisher | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| World Bank urea, prill spot FOB Middle East (Black Sea before March 2022) | World Bank (Bloomberg/Green Markets data) | monthly average |
| Granular urea FOB Egypt, FOB Middle East, NOLA barge, CFR Brazil | Argus, CRU, ICIS, Profercy | weekly spot |
Exchanges
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CME Group | Urea (granular) FOB US Gulf, FOB Middle East, FOB Egypt and CFR Brazil futures/swaps, cash-settled on PRA assessments | modest liquidity |
| Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange | Urea futures (China domestic, 20 t lots, indicative) | tracks Chinese domestic coal-based urea, not world prices |
Contract types
- Indian government import tenders, offers per port
- Spot cargoes FOB or CFR
- Term contracts priced off PRA benchmarks
- Long-term offtake from Indian joint ventures abroad (e.g. OMIFCO in Oman, indicative)
Traders and distributors
- Koch Fertilizer
- Ameropa
- Keytrade
- Dreymoor Fertilisers
- Helm
- Samsung C&T (Asia)
How Indian buyers price it
- Farm price fixed at Rs 242 per 45 kg bag excluding neem coating and taxes (about Rs 5,380/t, or roughly $60/t)
- Domestic plants paid assessed cost minus retail price as subsidy under the New Urea Policy 2015
- Imports bought by tender at CFR India and sold at the same fixed price; FY2026 fertiliser subsidy budget about Rs 1.7 trillion
Recent price points
| Date | Price | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | $407.5/t | World Bank urea, FOB Middle East, monthly average | World Bank Pink Sheet (Oct 2026) |
| Apr 2026 | $856.9/t | World Bank urea, monthly average | World Bank Pink Sheet |
| 2025 | $422.7/t | World Bank urea, annual average | World Bank annual prices |
| 2024 | $338.3/t | World Bank urea, annual average | World Bank annual prices |
| Apr 2026 | about $255-267/t | northern China domestic | Reuters via The Daily Star (8 Apr 2026) |
Good sources to follow
World Bank Pink Sheetfree research site · World Bank commodity markets teammonthly urea and DAP prices since 1960
Fertilizer Dailyfree newsletter · independent fertiliser news siteurea tenders, India subsidy and import news
farmdoc dailyfree blog · University of Illinoisfertiliser costs and US farm economics, including 2026 Hormuz scenarios
Kpler blog (fertilisers)free research site · Kpler analystsseaborne urea flows and disruptions
IFAfreemium research site · International Fertilizer Associationworld supply, demand and capacity