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Prices for new stocks of CAN range from £325 to £335/t, up £10 to £15 on mid-December.
However, quotes for urea are unchanged, leaving prices at £400 to £410/t for farmers buying larger quantities, rising to £420/t for smaller volumes.
Deals at the lower end of quotes are easier to negotiate where full payment is on delivery or within 30 days of purchase.
Last January, CAN cost £650/t, with prices for urea running close to £100/t above this level.
Protected urea
Merchants indicate sales are extremely slow at present, but there has been a marked increase in enquires about the availability of protected urea this spring.
That interest is coming from dairy farmers, with several processors encouraging use of the product as part of their new sustainability schemes.
Availability is limited at present, but should increase in the weeks ahead.
Where protected urea is currently stocked, prices are in the region of £450 to £470/t.
Compounds
Grassland compound products such as 25-5-5 and 27-4-4 are trading around £380/t and normally, 20-10-10 would be priced similar to these products.
But a hike in phosphorous (P) prices means products with a high P content will be more expensive this spring. Current quotes for 20-10-10 are close to £400/t.
Fertilisers typically used during planting of spring cereals will also be heavily impacted by higher P costs.
Merchants expect increased demand for these products, as reduced winter planting will result in more farmers establishing spring crops.
Rations steady
In the feed trade, livestock rations will see no change to prices going into February, keeping beef rations around £285 to £300/t and dairy feeds starting from £330/t.
With ewe rations ranging from £330 to £370/t, farmers should take note of the ingredients used as some lower priced rations can include products with lower feed quality.
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