# Urea market firms with India still playing catch-up

> Urea prices firmed in late July 2020 after new Indian public procurement rules raised doubts over Chinese urea in the MMTC tender. Derivatives and Zhengzhou futures were volatile, and India later confirmed Chinese product could be supplied. The tender drew about 700,000t against a much larger target as physical supply stayed tight.

- Date: 2020-07-31 · published 2020-07-31T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: trade · region India · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/5057-urea-market-firms-with-india-still-playing-catch-up
- Commodities: [Urea](https://feedsoft.ai/c/UREA.md)

## Why it matters

Tight Chinese export availability and firm Indian import demand support urea offers and raise nitrogen input costs for feed and grain producers. Buyers should expect firm pricing while India's import policy stays uncertain.

## Read by commodity

- UREA: bullish ▲

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| UREA | 2020-08-03 | 5 | +20.1% | 4.7 | Indian MMTC tender uncertainty over Chinese urea eligibility plus a heavily undersubscribed tender (~700kt) kept physical supply tight and drove price firming and futures volatility. |
| UREA | 2020-07-31 | 1 | +8.3% | 7.6 | Late-July urea firmed on Indian tender uncertainty over Chinese supply and tight physical availability, with the tender drawing only ~700kt against a much larger target, a direct trade-flow and supply driver on the move date. |
| UREA | 2020-08-05 | 5 | +21.4% | 4.3 | Late-July urea price firming tied to India's MMTC tender, uncertainty over Chinese eligibility and tight physical supply directly drove the rally via trade flow and supply. |
| UREA | 2020-08-02 | 1 | +8.7% | 6.0 | Late-July firming on Indian MMTC tender uncertainty over Chinese urea eligibility, with volatile Zhengzhou futures and tight physical supply, directly links to the sharp price jump. |
| UREA | 2020-07-30 | 1 | +8.3% | 8.6 | Indian MMTC tender uncertainty over Chinese urea eligibility and tight physical supply fueled volatile, firmer urea prices, though dated 2020-07-31, one day after the move, so it may be a follow-through rather than a cause. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| UREA | 2025-06-30 | [India Tender Supports Volatile Urea Market \| CZ app](https://feedsoft.ai/events/24144-india-tender-supports-volatile-urea-market-cz-app.md) | +7.9% | +11.8% |
| UREA | 2022-01-28 | [Urea market finds liquidity following news of India’s potential return](https://feedsoft.ai/events/43453-urea-market-finds-liquidity-following-news-of-india-s-potential-return.md) | -4.8% | +5.2% |
| UREA | 2024-09-06 | [Global urea producers hopeful pending Indian tender purchase will support market](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28224-global-urea-producers-hopeful-pending-indian-tender-purchase-will-support-market.md) | +0.2% | +6.6% |
| UREA | 2026-02-25 | [Urea: India raises the stakes for markets requiring April arrivals](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20925-urea-india-raises-the-stakes-for-markets-requiring-april-arrivals.md) | +28.3% | +35.4% |
| UREA | 2024-05-28 | [China Absence, India Tender Creates Urea Market Rally \| CZ app](https://feedsoft.ai/events/30180-china-absence-india-tender-creates-urea-market-rally-cz-app.md) | -2.7% | +4.2% |

## Sources

- profercy.com: https://www.profercy.com/insights/urea-market-firms-with-india-still-playing-catch-up

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.