The 2019 MOP contract seems to be shelved this year. Many industry insiders indicated that this year’s MOP contract will no longer be signed. Negotiation is expected to start next February or later.
On November 20,MOP imports at ports were about 3.2 million tons, doubling the inventory last year. The inventory at bonded areas of ports was also high (about 800,000 tons). Large producers’ MOP units in Qinghai were running normally, but they also had high inventory. Small companies in the province will gradually suspend production for overhaul and are expected to resume production next March.
It is worth mentioning that border trade of MOP has been resumed, and new MOP imports willarrive by the end of November. Although the volume was not very high, more arrivals are expected to come in December.
China’s SOP market was quite strong in the first half of 2019, however, the prices fell sharply in October. SOP manufacturers’ inventory has been piling up, hitting the highest this year.