By Stephen Nakrosis

Nutrien, provider of crop inputs and services, said strong demand and historically low global grain stocks-to-use ratios will provide a supportive environment for ag commodity prices in 2025, and support demand for fertilizer and nutrients.

On U.S. plantings:

Nutrien said it expects U.S. corn plantings will range between 91 million and 93 million acres this year, while soybean plantings will range from 84 million to 86 million acres in 2025.

"The projected increase in corn acreage, combined with a shortened fall application season in 2024, supports our outlook for strong North American fertilizer demand in the first half of the year," Nutrien said.

On Brazil:

The company said generally favorable soil moisture conditions and stronger crop prices are expected to lead to an increase in safrinha corn planted acreage in Brazil of approximately 5%, which will support crop input demand in the first half of the year.

On Australia:

Nutrien said "A weaker Australian dollar and strong grain and oilseed export demand is supporting grower economics, and conditions remain positive for 2025 crop input demand."

On crop-nutrient markets:

Nutrien said global potash shipments, which reached about 72.5 million tons in 2024, were expected to be between 71 million and 75 million tons this year. "The high end of the range captures the potential for stronger underlying global consumption and the lower end captures the potential for reduced supply availability," the company added.

Nitrogen demand for the spring season is expected to be strong, Nutrien said, due to a limited fall ammonia application season and higher projected corn acreage. "U.S. nitrogen supply and demand balance is expected to be tight ahead of the spring application season, as nitrogen fertilizer net imports in the first half of the 2024/2025 fertilizer year were down approximately 60% compared to the five-year average," according to the company.

Global urea and UAN prices increased in the first quarter of this year, "driven by strengthening demand in key import markets and restricted supply, including continued Chinese urea export restrictions," Nutrien said.

Global ammonia prices have trended lower at the start of the year, due to seasonal demand weakness and expectations of incremental supply in the U.S. and export capacity from Russia, according to Nutrien.

Phosphate fertilizer markets remain firm, particularly in North America, Nutrien said, adding it expects Chinese phosphate exports similar to 2024 levels.

Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2025 19:04 ET (00:04 GMT)

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