Financial report sample-Fertilizer market conditions

（Edited by freelance Chinese translator li – English to Chinese translation or Chinese to English translation services- financial report translation）

Fertilizer market conditions
Fertilizer markets continued to be firmly demand-driven（需求驱动） in the first quarter, as the tight supply-demand balance for grain（谷物） fuelled（加剧） global import demand. Although a correction in the prices of some agricultural commodities took place in mid-March, the general trend continued upwards. At the Chicago Board of Trade（芝加哥交易所）, the December 2008 contract for corn（玉米） increased 23 % during the quarter, and wheat（小麦） increased by 16 %. For rice, the quarter was dramatic（更加戏剧性）, with a 29 % increase and further increases so far in April. The price effects（价格效果/价格效应） have been even stronger for traded rice from the key Asian exporters.

The price development in the global urea market（尿素市场） was driven by very strong Chinese exports, more than offset（抵消） by an even stronger increase in global import demand. In the first two months of the quarter, uncertainty over the timing（调速/调节） of Indian purchases saw fob Black Sea prices（黑海离岸价格） decline from USD 375 to USD 320 per ton. But prices rebounded sharply in March amid renewed（复兴/恢复） Indian buying, and ended the quarter at close to（接近） USD 400 per ton, equal to the peak in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The increase in ammonia（氨） prices that started in December 2007 continued strongly in the first quarter. From around USD 400 per ton fob Black Sea at the start of the quarter, prices peaked（达到巅峰） at USD 565 per ton before trending downwards towards the end of March. As ammonia prices reached a level where upgrading margins（提升毛利） to urea became negative（否定的/不利的）, more ammonia was offered for sale. In addition, the new Razi III ammonia plant in Iran came on-stream（投入生产）, further weakening（削弱/缓解） the ammonia supply-demand balance.

The positive（积极的/正向的） demand fundamentals（基础要素） led to a continued increase in the price of phosphate fertilizer（磷肥）. The price of DAP fob Morocco （摩洛哥）almost doubled through the quarter, from around USD 550 per ton to USD 1,000 per ton.

As contracts have been renewed（更新/重新签订）, the suppliers of phosphate rock（磷矿石） and phosphoric acid（磷酸） have succeeded in capturing（获得/纳入囊中） most of the value increase. Phosphate rock, selling at around USD 80 per ton fob Morocco（摩洛哥离岸价格） in fourth quarter 2007, is now priced around USD 350 per ton. The price of phosphoric acid has also increased significantly. Part of the increase in the phosphoric acid price is linked to increased cost of sulphur（硫磺）.