In the Northern White Market, FOB Odessa 40/70m fell by $0.50 per ton, reflective of falling demand for sand (both Northern White and region in-basin) in West Texas.
The National Cereals and Produce Board in Kenya will be purchasing 15,000 bags of rice and beans at the end of this month which is in line with government plans to continue food supplies during the Covid-19 outbreak as reported in the Business Daily. This procurement will include 4,000 bags of rosecoco beans, 4,000 bags of mwitemania, 2,000 bags of red haricot beans and 5,000 bags of rice.
Northern White mine gate prices remained relatively flat this week, suggesting continued limited demand relative to in-basin supply. Prices stayed within 2% of last week’s prices across the board for 100m, 40/70m, 30/50m and FOB Odessa Northern White 40/70m.
Kenya continues to see an increase in positive Covid-19 cases as the lockdown has seen a slowdown in economic activities. The government are supporting stakeholders in the horticulture and food industry to help restart their businesses while it also plans to support those vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with special needs.
Northern White mine gate prices remained relatively flat this week, suggesting continued limited demand relative to in-basin supply. Prices stayed within 2% of last week’s prices across the board for 100m, 40/70m, 30/50m and FOB Odessa Northern White 40/70m.
The government of Kenya has introduced a ban on the movement to and from the Greater Nairobi area as the cases of Covid-19 rise to 184 with 7 confirmed deaths and 12 patients that have recovered. The ban was announced by the president on Monday 6th April and will last 21 days. Supplies for food and cargo are exempt from the directive.
Northern white prices remained relatively stable this week, with 100m and 30/50m Northern White mine gate prices down 1% each this week. FOB Wisconsin 40/70m was down $1 / ton and FOB Odessa Northern White 40/70m was down by $0.60 / ton.
Kenya has seen the most cases of Covid-19 in the region as the number has surpassed 100 and with 3 fatalities. The country is also battling to keep the economy operating during a nationwide curfew, closure of businesses and slowdown in those businesses that have remained opened.
In the Permian, FOB Kermit 100m and FOB Kermit 40/70m each fell by $2.50 / ton this week, suggesting that the slow down in drilling and completion activity is weighing heavily on local sand prices. FOB Odessa Northern White 40/70m fell by $0.50.
Biomass has been trading in the range of $0.43 to $1.16/point, albeit on very light volume. It’s undeniable that even before the recent economic headwinds, the industry was dealing with a significant oversupply.