DAP Fertilizer 18-46-0

DAP is procured from primary producers: Morocco's OCP shipping via Atlantic deepwater berths (Jorf Lasfar), Jordan's JIFCO shipping out of the Red Sea Port of Aqaba, and Egyptian producers loading at Mediterranean and Red Sea ports (Ain Sokhna, Safaga), into South Asian, African and Southeast Asian discharge ports.

Dry bulk blending requires matched physical dimensions to prevent particle segregation in transit and uneven field application. Our DAP is screened to an SGN of 200–300 (median 2.8 mm) with a Uniformity Index above 50, exactly matching our granular urea and granular MOP. Granule crushing strength of 3.0–4.5 kgf prevents granule breakdown and dust generation during high-speed blender loading and distributor handling.

In the Indian Rabi season, DAP is drilled directly alongside seeds (wheat, mustard, chickpeas) to place available phosphate and ammoniacal nitrogen right in the root zone for rapid early root proliferation and winter cold tolerance. In Southeast Asian oil palm, DAP is applied during planting hole preparation and as a broadcast basal dressing to drive frond expansion, trunk girth development, and sustained bunch initiation.

Phosphate rock deposits naturally contain varying cadmium levels. We contract low-cadmium DAP certified at ≤ 20 mg Cd per kg of P₂O₅ for European and environmentally sensitive markets (well below the EU Regulation 2019/1009 statutory ceiling of 60 mg/kg P₂O₅). Full heavy-metal panels (including arsenic, lead, and mercury) are certified by SGS or Intertek prior to vessel loading.

India imported 6.43 million MT of DAP in 2025, 42% of it from Saudi Arabia, whose phosphate loads inside the Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz has been severely restricted since 28 February 2026. Imports run through national fertiliser importers, with Indian Potash Limited (IPL) running the large import tenders in separate west-coast and east-coast lots. Imports in January to April 2026 fell to about 380,000 MT against a five-year average of about 1.12 million MT for those months, and IPL's May 2026 tender then awarded about 1.35 million MT at USD 930–935/MT CFR for shipment by mid-August. Product must meet the Fertiliser (Control) Order specification for DAP 18-46-0. Those tenders set the price and timing of the market; CBIL does not bid in government or state-enterprise tenders and offers Moroccan, Jordanian and Egyptian DAP to private importers.

Both markets leaned on Saudi DAP before the restriction: Kenya imported about 129,000 MT in 2025, 81% Saudi, and Tanzania about 107,000 MT, 79% Saudi. In Kenya the government fertiliser subsidy programme is supplied through consignment tenders run by the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) and sold to registered farmers through NCPB depots; the subsidised 50 kg bag price was cut to KSh 2,000 in August 2026. Cargoes land at Mombasa. In Tanzania the Tanzania Fertilizer Regulatory Authority (TFRA) runs the Bulk Procurement System, under which pre-qualified importers bid for DAP, urea and other grades, and the state-owned Tanzania Fertilizer Company holds reserve stock; cargoes land at Dar es Salaam. CBIL does not bid in those government tenders; it quotes 50 kg bagged and bulk DAP from Morocco, Jordan or Egypt CFR Mombasa and Dar es Salaam to private importers and distributors.

The United States imported about 591,000 MT of DAP in 2025, 65% from Saudi Arabia, largely into the New Orleans (NOLA) barge market that feeds Midwest distributors. Saudi cargoes arrived in February and March 2026 (about 242,000 MT and 139,000 MT) and none since; Jordanian cargoes of about 17,000–18,000 MT landed in April and May, and Egypt shipped about 49,000 MT in March. The countervailing duty on OCP's Moroccan phosphate was amended to 2.11% in January 2026, which reopens Morocco as a NOLA origin. CBIL works Jordanian, Egyptian and Moroccan DAP into US Gulf receivers on CFR terms.