Why have international urea prices fallen sharply?

From January to April this year, China exported 6.38 million tons of ammonium sulfate, an increase of 2.04 million tons year-on-year; 750,000 tons of other fertilizers (HS code 31059090), up by 520,000 tons year-on-year; 450,000 tons of organic-inorganic compound fertilizers, up by 410,000 tons year-on-year; 230,000 tons of urea-ammonium nitrate solution, up by 230,000 tons year-on-year; 250,000 tons of other chemical nitrogen fertilizers and mineral nitrogen fertilizers, up by 200,000 tons year-on-year; 850,000 tons of ammonium chloride, up by 90,000 tons year-on-year; and 490,000 tons of urea, up by 480,000 tons year-on-year. Other fertilizers (HS code 31059090), organic-inorganic compound fertilizers, and other chemical nitrogen fertilizers and mineral nitrogen fertilizers likely contain urea as their primary nitrogen source—yet they are not declared as urea for export purposes. A rough calculation shows that total nitrogenous fertilizer exports from China from January to April this year increased by 3.97 million tons year-on-year. II. Exports of China’s Synthetic Ammonia and Melamine From January to April this year, China exported 280,000 tons of synthetic ammonia, up by 250,000 tons year-on-year; imported 20,000 tons of synthetic ammonia, down by 100,000 tons year-on-year; thus contributing a net export increase of 350,000 tons of synthetic ammonia to the global market—equivalent to approximately 600,000 tons of urea. From January to April this year, China exported 250,000 tons of melamine, up by 50,000 tons year-on-year—equivalent to 150,000 tons of urea. Exports of synthetic ammonia and melamine together added the equivalent of 750,000 tons of urea supply to international markets. In total, China’s nitrogenous fertilizer exports from January to April this year increased by 4.72 million tons year-on-year—how could international urea prices possibly avoid falling? III. High Urea Prices Suppress Demand Although comprehensive statistical data is lacking, relevant reports abound: farmers are increasingly opting to grow crops with lower nitrogen requirements, reducing nitrogen fertilizer application rates, or shrinking sown areas—this is precisely why the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that soaring fertilizer prices risk triggering a global food crisis. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) March 31 Planting Intentions Report, U.S. corn acreage for 2026 is projected at 95.3 million acres (1 acre = 6 mu), down 3.45 million acres (over 20 million mu) year-on-year—a 3% decline; while intended soybean planting area stands at 84.7 million acres, up 3.5 million acres from the 2025 actual planted area—an increase of 4.3%. This reflects demand suppression caused by high-priced nitrogen fertilizers.

Why do field crops remain the core of agricultural innovation? Data reveal 90% of R&D truths.

At this critical juncture in global agriculture’s transition toward higher quality and greater efficiency, field crops—including maize, soybeans, and cotton—remain the core focus of agricultural input innovation. This trend is not only evident in market scale and economic contribution but also plays a foundational role in agricultural science and technology R&D investment, risk management strategies, and improvements in supply chain efficiency. 01 Strategic Importance of Field Crops for Long-Term Agricultural Development Field crops command priority in global agricultural input resource allocation due to their extensive cultivation area, stable market demand, and substantial economic scale. In the 2025 agricultural input innovation landscape, the vast majority of R&D efforts, product launches, and capital investments continue to center on field crops. Maize, soybeans, cotton, wheat, and rapeseed systems dominate agricultural input innovation and represent the top-priority R&D direction for enterprises. Take the United States as an example: USDA data show that U.S. maize planting area in 2025 is projected at approximately 95.3 million acres (~38.6 million hectares), up about 5% year-on-year. Most maize, cotton, and soybean cultivation employs biotech seeds (e.g., herbicide-tolerant traits), with adoption rates approaching or exceeding 90%. Moreover, USDA’s latest forecast indicates that U.S. maize production in 2025 is expected to reach a record high of ~16.8 billion bushels (~427 million metric tons), making a vital contribution to global food supply. In other major agricultural countries such as Brazil, innovation continues to boost field crop productivity. Bayer recently announced it will launch Intacta 5+, a new herbicide-tolerant soybean seed resistant to multiple herbicides, during the 2027/28 growing season. This technology reportedly increased Brazilian soybean output by approximately 21.2 million tons over the past decade. In China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs’ latest supply-demand analysis projects that China’s total maize output for 2025/26 will exceed 300 million metric tons, up ~2% year-on-year; soybean output will reach ~20.91 million metric tons, up ~1.3%; and cotton output will reach ~6.64 million metric tons, up ~7.7%. This phenomenon reflects fundamental economic drivers and return-on-investment logic: large-scale field crop production alone suffices to absorb high R&D costs and complex regulatory compliance expenses, delivering stable commercial returns and broad market acceptance for agricultural input providers. As the bedrock of food security and farm income, field crops hold enduring strategic significance for national food supply and agricultural input innovation. 02 Industry Demand Drives Innovation Strategy: Standardization and Compatibility First Within modern agricultural production ecosystems, technological and product innovation in field crop systems exhibits clear trends: 1. Standardized Production Systems Form the Foundation of Innovation Field crop production systems—especially for maize and soybeans—are highly standardized. The widespread adoption of biotech traits (e.g., herbicide tolerance, insect resistance) ensures remarkable consistency across production processes. This has fostered relatively mature production frameworks globally, enabling agricultural input innovation to focus primarily on compatibility, robustness, and sustained deployment—not on radical, disruptive breakthroughs.

US crop planting nearly complete as corn reaches 97% with soybeans at 92%

Jun 8, 2026

According to the latest USDA report, US corn and soybean plantings are nearly complete at 97% and 92% respectively, exceeding previous year averages despite early June wet weather.

icis

2026-06-08

US crop planting nearly complete as corn reaches 97% with soybeans at 92%

US crop planting nearly complete as corn reaches 97% with soybeans at 92%

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