Phosphate rock: Trading

Why giant integrated firms sell to themselves

Phosphate rock has no futures market. It sells under term contracts between miners and acid plants, often inside one integrated company. OCP in Morocco, Ma'aden in Saudi Arabia and Mosaic in the US mine rock and sell finished fertiliser. Price-reporting agencies such as Argus, CRU and Fastmarkets publish rock, acid and DAP assessments. The World Bank price is a Morocco-origin rock quote. Most value is traded downstream, as DAP, MAP and phosphoric acid, rather than as rock.

Where it is bought (buyers)

• Indian producers (Coromandel, Paradeep Phosphates, IFFCO) buy rock and phosphoric acid from Morocco, Jordan, Togo, Egypt and Peru
• Indian state-linked importers (IPL, NFL) and private firms buy DAP cargoes
• US and Brazilian distributors buy DAP/MAP; Brazil also buys MAP heavily
• Feed and industrial users buy purified acid and feed phosphates

Where it is sold (sellers)

• OCP sells rock, acid, DAP and TSP from Jorf Lasfar and Safi
• Ma'aden from Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia
• PhosAgro and others from Russia
• Chinese producers when export windows open
• Jordan, Egypt, Peru and Togo export rock (Morocco 26.5%, Jordan 21.2%, Peru 14.0% of 2024 export value)

Exchanges and benchmarks

Contract types

• Quarterly phosphoric acid contracts between OCP and Indian buyers
• Long-term rock supply agreements and offtake from joint ventures in Morocco and Jordan
• Spot DAP cargoes priced CFR India or FOB Morocco/Saudi
• Indian retail sales at controlled MRPs with NBS subsidy per kg of nutrient

Top trading houses

• OCP (direct marketing)
• Indian Potash Ltd
• Ameropa
• Keytrade

How prices are discovered

• Weekly DAP, MAP, rock and acid assessments by Argus, CRU and Profercy
• India's import contracts and tenders
• World Bank monthly series for rock (Morocco), DAP and TSP