Sulfur Wire North American sulfur intelligence

News

Desk

Dated public-source coverage of recovered sulfur, read from Alberta and the North American stems. RSS · Editorial policy

2026

  1. Canada sulfur exports on a 5.22 Mt pace while Hormuz recovery lags

    Alberta and British Columbia account for more than 95 percent of national sulfur exports in the SMM account

  2. Canada sulfur stays off US tariff lists as Section 338 duties enter third day

    Energy, potash, and critical minerals are exempt

  3. About 40 oil tankers transit Hormuz as sulfur seaborne stays impaired

    US officials put the 21 August evening passage at roughly 16 million barrels of crude

  4. US 50 percent Canada tariffs take effect; Ottawa suspends talks and readies retaliation

    Carney announced equivalent retaliatory tariffs while the US measure remains in force

  5. Port of Vancouver 2025 sulfur print confirmed at 3.507 Mt as China share slips

    VFPA's March 2026 PDF puts China at 1.30 Mt, down 16 percent, while US receipts nearly triple

  6. Canada June sulfur exports 527,305 t as Indonesia and the US lead destinations

    SMM put the month down 15.43 percent from May and 8.62 percent from June 2025, with acid exports to the US doubling

  7. SMM H1 review: Canada named swing supplier after Gulf and CIS shocks

    The 6 July chain review cited StatCan-style export growth and elevated Vancouver FOB into early 2026

  8. Canada still the Pacific swing origin as SMM H1 frame holds into late August

    The 6 July review's StatCan-style export growth and elevated Vancouver FOB remain the working national account

  9. TFI calls sulfur the next phosphate bottleneck after Hormuz shutdown

    More than half of globally traded sulfur normally transits Hormuz

  10. USGS: US recovered elemental sulfur 7.6 Mt in 2025e; Canada 5.0 Mt

    Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 puts world output at 84 Mt and keeps Canada as the first US import source

  11. Itafos Conda acid contract leaves Vancouver index for Tampa

    Kennecott supply is about 60 percent of Conda sulfur needs

  12. OCP sells 50 percent of JFC 1 to Koch, lifting JV phosphate capacity to 2.5 Mt a year

    The Jorf unit is 1.2 Mt a year nameplate

  13. OCP phosphate runs cut as much as 50 percent on sulfur shortage

    Mosaic also curtailed at three US and Brazil locations

  14. More than 0.5 Mt sulfur stranded at Hormuz as restarts stall

    Onshore Gulf inventory thought to exceed 1.0 Mt

  15. Tampa Q3 molten sulfur settles at record $705 per long ton

    Up $50 per long ton from Q2's $655, after that quarter had already cleared the 2008 peak

  16. US Gulf spot sulfur exports print $1,100 to $1,150/t FOB

    Q2 cargoes reached North Africa and the East African copper belt as Middle East flows dwindled

  17. Middle East sulfur exports down more than 1 Mt a month since March

    CRU puts production loss around 2.3 Mt

  18. Nickel Industries starts ENC HPAL sulfuric acid plant in Sulawesi

    At capacity the project targets about 72,000 t/a contained nickel equivalent as MHP, sulfate, and cathode

  19. China H1 sulfur imports fall 57.7 percent to about 2.26 Mt

    Gulf-4 share roughly halved

  20. Kazakhstan suspends sulfur exports until further notice

    Energy Ministry Order No

  21. Russia extends industrial sulfur export ban to 31 December 2026

    Decree No

  22. Cartagena Refinery commissions 1,000 t/d sulfur pelletising plant

    Ecopetrol dispatched a first 260 t domestic shipment and named Brazil, Peru, and Africa as export targets

  23. Alberta wildfire risk eases near the 3 Mt/a oil-sands sulfur belt

    June rainfall helped hold Lac la Biche-area fires near Cenovus, CNRL, and ConocoPhillips in-situ sites

  24. China May sulfur imports fall 66 percent to 268,300 t at about $799/t

    SunSirs called it the second-lowest monthly volume in nearly 20 years as MAP and DAP runs were cut

  25. Russia halts rail transit of Kazakh sulfur to Russian ports

    Roszheldor ordered a temporary cessation from 26 May

  26. CRU: Middle East supplied 76 to 93 percent of sulfur for key Asian and African buyers

    Indonesia 76 percent, India 84 percent, southern Africa 93 percent in 2025

  27. China imposes near-total sulfuric acid export halt from May 2026

    After 4.65 Mt of acid exports in 2025, H1 2026 shipments fell to about 0.78 Mt, with June near 980 t

  28. Canada oil-sands sulfur about 3.0 Mt in 2025 as remelt cycle starts

    BC Insight puts national output near 4.7 Mt and exports near 4.57 Mt, third behind the UAE and Saudi Arabia

  29. Hormuz closure shock: about 45 percent of seaborne sulfur must transit the Strait

    BC Insight put international sulfur movements near 39 Mt a year

  30. Port of Vancouver publishes 2023-2025 cargo statistics overview

    The public PDF is the primary open source for the 3.5 Mt 2025 sulfur figure and fertilizer growth to 14.0 MMT

  31. China customs halt phosphate fertilizer export declarations through August

    Yuntianhua, Xingfa, and Xinyangfeng stopped outbound MAP and DAP

  32. Canada Action: 2025 sulfur output above 4.43 Mt and exports $1.45 billion

    The fact sheet ranks sulfur 76th among Canadian export products and cites 3.5 Mt through Vancouver

  33. TFI: nearly 50 percent of global sulfur trade exposed to Hormuz disruption

    High-risk Gulf exporters were about 41 percent of 2025 global sulfur exports

  34. USGS: Canada supplies 53 percent of US elemental sulfur imports

    Mexico, Iraq, and Kazakhstan follow at 7, 6, and 6 percent for 2021-24

  35. USGS: US sulfur production slips to 8.1 Mt in 2025; world output about 84 Mt

    Elemental recovered sulfur is about 7.6 Mt

Desk notes · 1

  1. USGS pauses Mineral Industry Surveys; latest sulfur MIS remains December 2025

    ScienceBase migration has stopped monthly public posting

2025

  1. Port of Vancouver sulfur throughput reaches 3.5 Mt in 2025

    Sulphur rose 5 percent inside a record 170.4 million tonne cargo year, with fertilizer at 14.0 million tonnes

  2. US average elemental sulfur unit value about $180/t in 2025 versus $46 in 2024

    USGS MCS 2026 ties the jump to the Tampa contract climb and global tightness as Russian export restrictions began

  3. China industry groups urge phosphate fertilizer export halt through August 2026

    Bloomberg and state media said associations, after an NDRC-linked meeting, asked majors to suspend MAP and DAP exports to protect spring planting

  4. Syncrude Fort McMurray sulfur stockpile falls below 10 Mt

    Site inventory was just over 9.9 Mt at end-November, the first sub-10 Mt print since 2019, after a draw of nearly 400,000 t

  5. Russia bans industrial sulfur exports after Astrakhan damage

    Kazakhstan had been moving about 0.3 Mt a month through Russian ports, with Morocco and Brazil as key destinations

  6. Gazprom Astrakhan damage prompts Russian industrial sulfur export ban

    The late-2025 restriction later extended through 2026 and combined with Kazakh transit curbs to close a major CIS seaborne path

  7. China 2025 sulfur imports 9.61 Mt, down 3.5 percent, at about $274/t

    SunSirs put the average import price up 134 percent

  8. USGS: Tampa contract sulfur climbs from $116 to $310/lt through 2025

    April $270, July $252, October $310

  9. Brazil triples Vancouver sulfur intake as US tariff risk redirects cargoes

    Canadian suppliers delivered 122,842 t to Brazil from Vancouver in January-August, nearly threefold the prior-year pace

  10. Argus Vancouver FOB spot sulfur assessed at $305-310/t

    Up about $192.50/t on a midpoint basis from the same period in 2024, with September loadings estimated near 386,000 t

  11. Alberta inventory draw continues as Vancouver margins support remelt

    Blocked sulfur is excavated, melted, formed, and railed to Vancouver and Port Moody

  12. Argus estimates September Vancouver exports near 386 kt; January-September about 2.73 Mt

    That would be up 11 percent year on year as metals demand and fertilizer buying supported FOB near $305-310/t in early October

  13. August Vancouver sulfur exports fall 5 percent year on year to 304,675 t

    China took 133,907 t and the US 51,249 t

  14. China takes 133,907 t of August Vancouver sulfur; US 51,249 t

    August stem total was 304,675 t, down 5 percent year on year

  15. Vancouver solid sulfur exports January-July 2025 rise nearly 5 percent to 2.04 Mt

    Brazil nearly tripled to 122,842 t

  16. Tampa sulfur eases to $252/lt in early July before the autumn spike

    USGS places the dip after April's $270/lt and before October's $310/lt

  17. Alberta sulfur closing inventory at 11.66 Mt, lowest since May 2019

    AER data cited by Argus show a draw of more than 377,000 t, about 3 percent, year on year as remelt fed Vancouver

  18. CRU: nickel-related Indonesia acid demand path about 16 Mt a year by 2025

    Up from 3.5 Mt a year in 2021

  19. Heartland raises remelt capacity 40 percent to 700 t/d, targets 1,500 t/d by end-2026

    The Edmonton-area terminal would then run at triple its original 2021 commissioning rate, feeding molten rail and Vancouver granules

  20. China sulfuric acid exports surge toward 4.65 Mt for full-year 2025

    CRU and SMM later put the year up 73 percent

  21. Vancouver FOB January-July average later prints $238/t versus $78/t a year earlier

    The triple cleared the $150-plus export-process cost hurdle that governs Alberta remelt economics

  22. Tampa sulfur jumps to $270/lt in early April 2025

    USGS tracks the first major step of the 2025 bull market from a $116/lt year-open, later peaking near $310/lt in October

  23. US tariff risk on Canadian goods raises Vancouver diversion talk

    Argus said threats of 25 percent tariffs from early April encouraged alternative markets via Vancouver for some product historically railed as liquid into...

  24. Vancouver January-February sulfur exports 621 kt, up 17 percent; China takes 278 kt

    Australia took 108,000 t and Indonesia 59,000 t

  25. Tengiz FGP reinjects gas and does not add sulfur export volumes

    BC Insight's Central Asia feature said 2024 Wellhead Management lifted output toward 2.65 Mt, but FGP oil gains keep associated gas in the reservoir

  26. Tampa sulfur opens 2025 at $116/lt, starting the recovery year

    USGS later tracks the climb to $270 in April, $252 in July, and $310 in October, the highest Q4 since Q2 2022

2024

  1. USGS: Canada sulfur about 5.06 Mt in 2024; world near 83.9 Mt

    MCS 2026 revises the 2024 Canada line up from the prior 5.0 Mt estimate

  2. Port of Vancouver sulfur 3.35 Mt in 2024, up 8 percent

    VFPA lists 3,347,932 tonnes

  3. China 2024 sulfur imports 9.95 Mt, up 12.7 percent, at about $116/t

    Canada was the second origin at 1.66 Mt, behind the UAE at 1.70 Mt, despite Chinese domestic output rising to 11.13 Mt

  4. China December 2024 sulfur imports 760 kt at $160.6/t

    The monthly average was up 45.6 percent year on year, an early firming signal after a soft full-year near $116/t

  5. Kashagan inventory draw seen finishing by mid-2025 at about 0.25 Mt a quarter

    CRU expected Kazakh exports to normalize near 3.5 Mt a year from 2026, before transit bans intervened

  6. Saudi stock location near capacity drives export programme additions

    CRU put the extra Gulf draw at about 0.15 Mt a quarter, competing with Canadian and Kazakh solids into a soft market

  7. CRU: Canada remelt is price-driven; Kazakh and Saudi draws are not

    Vancouver FOB must clear high logistics costs before Alberta block moves

  8. Kazakhstan stock draw about 1.2 Mt of extra 2024 sales, exports via Ust-Luga

    BC Insight expected inventory sales to end in 2025, allowing exports to fall toward 3.5 Mt a year from 2026

  9. Indonesia MHP output seen at 325-345 kt in 2024 versus about 269 kt in 2023

    Three-year targets pointed toward 800-900 kt

  10. BC Insight: global nickel sulfur use headed toward 6.7 Mt a year by 2028

    The September 2024 nickel feature put Indonesian HPAL ramp-ups at the centre of a metals call competing with phosphate

  11. Morocco takes about 73 percent of Kazakh sulfur sales in the 2024 export surge

    Other African countries took 12 percent

  12. Indonesian HPAL acid demand about 5.17 Mt in 2024; 7.12 Mt seen for 2025

    Argus put 2024 nearly 40 percent below the 2025 expectation as MHP targets rose toward 325-345 kt from about 269 kt

  13. Vancouver August sulfur exports 320,000 t, up 20 percent from July

    China took about 180,000 t

  14. Alberta de-blocking accelerates despite some oil-sands output cuts

    Argus said new forming capacity lifted remelting and reforming rates into Vancouver even as some upgraders reduced production

  15. Indonesia January-July sulfur imports 1.92 Mt, up 39 percent; July 425 kt

    July was up more than 400 percent year on year as sulfur burners displaced acid imports, which fell 64 percent to 64,000 t

  16. Vancouver July 2023 strike aftershock: 2024 year-to-date exports still up 15 percent

    A 13-day strike had disrupted July 2023 loadings

  17. Tampa sulfur eases to $76/lt in early July 2024

    USGS places the dip after March's $81/lt

  18. Global sulfur market still in surplus mid-2024 despite stock draws

    CRU described the period since late 2022 as a surplus with lower prices, even while Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia drew stocks

  19. Indonesia switches from acid imports toward sulfur burning

    S&P and Argus described MHP producers, including Halmahera Persada Lygend, ramping sulfur-burning capacity

  20. Tengiz Wellhead Management lifts 2024 sulfur toward 2.65 Mt

    Output was 2.4 Mt in 2023

  21. Middle East refining upgrades flagged to lift sulfur supply from 2025

    USGS MCS 2025 also noted HPAL battery-materials projects would raise demand, setting up the tightening that preceded 2026 shocks

  22. Kazakhstan sulfur exports on a record path, up 35 percent through October

    Year-to-October totaled 4.02 Mt

  23. South Cheecham priller operational after January-May startup issues

    Restored forming capacity supported higher Vancouver exports and Alberta de-blocking even as some oil-sands plants reduced production

  24. Canadian liquid sulfur rail to the US about 900 kt supports the molten corridor

    Argus, looking back on 2024 with USGS-linked figures, put the rail book at about 900,000 t

  25. Tampa sulfur lifts to $81/lt in early March 2024

    Up from the $69/lt year-open

  26. IFA: MAP and DAP production seen up 4 percent to 66.8 Mt in 2024, still below 2020

    Phosphoric acid was seen up 4 percent to 88.4 Mt, led by China plus 2 Mt and Morocco plus 1.1 Mt, moderating sulfur intensity versus HPAL

  27. USGS: US sulfur production eases toward about 8.2 Mt for 2024

    World output was seen near 85 Mt

  28. TFI USDA fertilizer comments: sulfur still a key phosphate input

    The January 2024-posted RFI comments reiterate the 198 percent March 2021-March 2022 price spike as evidence of US fertilizer supply-chain exposure

  29. Tampa sulfur opens 2024 at $69/lt after the Vancouver slide

    USGS later tracks $81 in March, $76 in July, and Q4 around $116

  30. Red Sea attacks cut Suez transits about 14 percent; Cape reroutes lift freights

    Hellenic Shipping News said longer voyages since mid-December 2023 tightened vessel supply and raised insurance costs for Middle East-Asia dry cargoes,...

2023

  1. USGS: world sulfur production about 85.8 Mt in 2023; Canada about 4.98 Mt

    China remained the largest producer near 19.4 Mt

  2. Port of Vancouver sulfur 3.10 Mt in 2023; China imports recover to 8.8 Mt

    VFPA lists 3,103,912 tonnes, up 11 percent

  3. Vancouver FOB sulfur falls 25 percent in Q4 to $72/t midpoint mid-December

    Argus said Chinese demand waned and rising freight rates trimmed FOB netbacks, pressuring North American liquid settlements into early 2024

  4. China top sulfur suppliers 2023: Canada, Korea, UAE about 1.1 to 1.2 Mt each

    IndexBox put the three origins together at about 39 percent of Chinese sulfur imports

  5. Red Sea and Suez risk begins to lengthen fertilizer and dry-bulk voyages

    Hellenic Shipping News described Cape of Good Hope reroutes raising ton-miles and freights into late 2023 and early 2024

  6. Indonesia sulfur imports about 2.7 Mt in 2023, roughly three times 2020

    S&P Global Energy also put sulfuric acid imports near 1 Mt, about eight times 2020, as coastal burners substituted elemental sulfur for imported acid

  7. Global sulfur consumption for nickel about 3.5 Mt in 2023 versus 1.7 Mt in 2020

    BC Insight said the metals pull increasingly competed with phosphate for seaborne sulfur even in soft fertilizer years

  8. Alberta January-October sulfur production 3.78 Mt, up 11 percent

    AER data cited by Argus put the increase at 386,000 tonnes as bitumen and heavy sour crude bolstered oil-sands sulfur output

  9. USGS import sources still show Canada above 70 percent of US elemental sulfur

    MCS 2024 listed Canada at 77 percent of US elemental sulfur imports for 2019-22, with Russia 10 percent and Kazakhstan 9 percent

  10. Tengiz sulfur output about 2.4 Mt in 2023; Kazakhstan export spike begins

    BC Insight put Tengizchevroil at 2.7 Mt in 2021 and 2.65 Mt in 2022 before the 2023 dip, with Kashagan stock drawdowns lifting national exports

  11. Kazakhstan crushed-lump stock sales lift exports toward a 2023 record path

    BC Insight said the stock-drawdown programme started in 2023 and later accelerated in 2024 under strict storage rules

  12. US January-September sulfur production about 6 Mt; Gulf Coast up 3 percent to 3.57 Mt

    Argus citing USGS said only the Gulf Coast region rose, while other US regions declined year over year

  13. Canada price-sensitive remelt slows as Vancouver softens

    Argus and CRU contrast Canadian remelt, which tracks FOB, with Kazakh and Saudi draws that ran for storage and regulatory reasons

  14. Port of Vancouver: sulfur up 11 percent in 2023 to 3.10 Mt; dry bulk record

    VFPA highlighted sulfur within record dry-bulk and overall port trade of 150.4 MMT, up 6 percent

  15. Battery-metals acid demand begins to offset soft phosphate sulfur pulls

    Industry outlooks through 2023 treated Indonesian HPAL and lithium acid as structural sulfur demand even when phosphate affordability was weak

  16. Tampa sulfur mid-year trough near $55/lt

    USGS recorded the softest Tampa print of 2023 in mid-July, consistent with global surplus after China's 2022 demand shock

  17. Keyera-Enbridge South Cheecham sulfur facilities commence operations

    Keyera reported the Fort McMurray-area forming and storage terminal started at the beginning of the third quarter of 2023, about 4,400 t/d

  18. Saudi Arabia begins voluntary sulfur stock draw about 0.15 Mt a quarter

    BC Insight said storage neared capacity and the logistics-buffer value of stocks diminished, so draws continued even in the lower-price surplus

  19. Indonesia acid imports begin a multi-year HPAL-driven surge

    CRU later put sulfuric acid imports up from about 0.31 Mt in 2022 to nearly 1.1 Mt in 2023, initially met by Japan and South Korea

  20. Heartland terminal forming capacity supports Edmonton-area sulfur exports

    Public materials describe about 4,500 t/d forming plus molten rail loading at the Alberta Industrial Heartland terminal commissioned around 2021

  21. Kazakhstan Kashagan stock fine triggers inventory removal programme

    BC Insight linked a significant government fine over about 1.7 Mt of accumulated Kashagan sulfur to a concerted draw starting around 2023

  22. Alberta suppliers remelt blocked sulfur early in 2023 to pace exports

    Argus said remelt kept up with exporter demand before late-year price weakness squeezed high-cost tonnes

  23. IFA: global MAP and DAP output still below 2020 after a multi-year decline

    The medium-term outlook put phosphoric acid up about 1 percent to 85 Mt in 2023 and MAP plus DAP up about 3 percent to 64.3 Mt

  24. Q1 Tampa sulfur expected mid-$60s to low-$70s/lt on soft Vancouver and US Gulf

    Argus's December 2023 viewpoint said participants expected the Q1 2024 Tampa settlement to track those soft spots

  25. North American sulfur output supported by high refining and oil sands

    Argus expected elevated refinery throughputs and increased Canadian bitumen processing to boost 2023 output and damp 2022-style volatility

  26. USGS MCS 2024: US sulfur production about 8.6 Mt, unchanged year on year in 2023

    Elemental recovered was about 8.0 Mt

  27. China expected to resume phosphate export customs inspections in 2023

    Argus said inspections from January would continue to restrain sulfur demand intensity versus the first-half 2022 surge

  28. Tampa sulfur opens 2023 near $90/lt, rises to $130, then slides to $55

    USGS MCS 2024 put the mid-January spike and mid-July trough on a path far below the 2022 peak, with Q4 later at $102/lt

Desk notes · 2

  1. TFI 2023 industry survey: geopolitics still top fertilizer risk theme

    The Fertilizer Institute found broadly positive sentiment but flagged regulatory uncertainty and geopolitical risks among leading challenges

  2. UAE among top three China sulfur origins as Gulf solids stay competitive

    IndexBox put UAE volume near 1.1 Mt in 2023, competing with Canadian Vancouver cargoes into Chinese phosphate plants

2022

  1. USGS: Canada sulfur production about 4.9 Mt; world about 82 Mt in 2022

    MCS 2023 listed UAE production near 6.0 Mt as Middle East solid exports remained central to seaborne trade

  2. Port of Vancouver sulfur 2.79 Mt in 2022, up 22 percent; fertilizers 12.8 MMT

    VFPA listed 2,787,073 tonnes

  3. South Cheecham priller expected to boost Vancouver capacity 5 to 10 percent in 2023

    Argus estimated the 4,000 t/d wet prilling addition would lift solid-export capability into the surplus-price era, subject to demand

  4. Tampa Q4 2022 sulfur contracts settle near $90/lt

    USGS put the year-end collapse at $90 per long ton after the April peak of $481/lt, the sharpest recent sulfur cycle on the tape

  5. China granular CFR sulfur rebounds to about $197.50/t by mid-December

    Argus said the bounce from the August $95/t collapse came as Chinese buyers leaned on domestic sulfur and import demand stayed selective

  6. Keyera-Enbridge South Cheecham sulfur facilities advance through 2022

    Keyera's AIF said construction of forming and storage at the rail and truck terminal progressed, with about 4,000 to 4,400 t/d wet prilling expected

  7. China import value of sulfur peaks near $2.3B in 2022 then set to fall

    IndexBox put 2022 value at about $2.3 billion after a 2021 surge, with 2023 value later falling to about $1.1 billion as volumes recovered

  8. China January-October sulfur imports 6.65 Mt, down 22 percent, after H1 surge

    Argus put April-June imports at 2.4 Mt, up 50 percent, then July-October at 2.5 Mt, down 5.9 percent, after the H2 export quota regime

  9. Vancouver January-October sulfur exports 2.39 Mt, already above full-year 2021

    Argus citing Port of Vancouver data said the ten-month total had already passed about 2.29 Mt, with the full year later at 2.79 Mt

  10. Global sulfur market enters surplus as Chinese demand destruction hits

    BC Insight later framed late 2022 as the start of a lower-price period after the mid-year Chinese phosphate curb, lasting into 2023-24

  11. Mosaic cuts US phosphate utilization, freeing sulfur for export

    Argus said the largest US sulfur consumer reported sinking utilization through 2022, a trend expected to continue into 2023

  12. China sulfur import price drops 63 percent month on month to $129/t in September

    IndexBox put September imports at 544,000 t, down 13.2 percent, with Korea, Iran, and Canada among top volume suppliers

  13. Vancouver FOB sulfur collapses under $65/t within two months of a $478 peak

    Argus said phosphate fertilizer demand fizzled after the Chinese export curb, with US Gulf spot having traded in a greater-than-$440/t range over six months

  14. Elevated US Gulf refining lifts recovered sulfur as phosphate demand fades

    Argus linked resilient fuel demand to higher Gulf recovered output even as phosphate demand weakened and inventories swelled in early Q3

  15. Qatar QSP crashes to $77/t FOB in August from $428/t in July

    Muntajat cut the Qatar Sulphur Price $351/t as Argus granular CFR China slumped to $95/t on 4 August after the phosphate export curb

  16. Tampa sulfur eases to $352/lt by mid-July from the April peak

    USGS recorded the mid-year retreat after the early-April $481/lt high, tracking collapsing Chinese phosphate export runs

  17. China de-facto phosphate fertilizer export quota for the second half of 2022

    Argus said DAP operating rates fell to 40-50 percent at river ports and about 50 percent in Yunnan and Guizhou by end-July, triggering a global sulfur price...

  18. China April-June sulfur imports 2.4 Mt, up 50 percent, before the export curb bite

    Argus said the second-quarter surge was driven by phosphate fertilizer exports before July's de-facto quota regime

  19. Huaxicun Commodity Contracts Exchange sulfur trading halted 16 June

    Argus said Chinese authorities deemed the venue non-standard, removing a domestic paper and price-discovery market as phosphate-export policy uncertainty...

  20. China sulfur import price peaks near $471/t CIF in June

    IndexBox put June import volumes also at a 2022 peak near 948,000 t before three consecutive monthly declines as phosphate-export policy tightened

  21. Argus Vancouver FOB Q2 2022 assessed $476-480/t; Tampa $481/lt

    The 26 May sample listed US Gulf $380-381/t FOB, Brazil $458-470/t CFR, and Vancouver midpoint near $478/t, the highest since 2008

  22. China river-port domestic sulfur about Yn4,000-4,020/t ex-works mid-May

    Argus Sulphur reported about 10,000 t of trades around Yn4,000-4,030/t, elevated domestic prices alongside still-high import CFR

  23. Qatar QSP May 2022 set at $460/t FOB; UAE and Kuwait OSP/KSP $470/t

    Argus listed Middle East excluding Iran second-quarter FOB at $380-405/t amid still-elevated phosphate-linked demand

  24. China April sulfur imports 719,800 t, up 24 percent; DAP exports plunge

    Argus cited DAP and MAP exports down 157 percent and 52 percent year on year to 195,000 t and 179,000 t as inspections constrained outflows from mid-April

  25. Tampa contract sulfur peaks at $481/lt in early April 2022

    USGS recorded the high-water mark of the post-pandemic cycle, aligned with Vancouver FOB near multi-year highs and Middle East markers in the mid-$400s/t

  26. China sulfur import price surge; March imports jump sharply

    IndexBox customs-linked series showed unit value rising hard into spring 2022, with March import volumes up about 58 percent month on month

  27. TFI: sulfur a critical phosphate input, cost up 198 percent over 12 months

    The Fertilizer Institute's USDA comments cited sulfur prices up 198 percent from March 2021 to March 2022 alongside energy, labor, and freight inflation

  28. Russia-Ukraine war reshapes fertilizer and sulfur trade risk

    USGS later noted 2022 world sulfur supplies were hampered by the conflict even as global output was roughly unchanged versus 2021

  29. USGS: US sulfur production rises to about 8.6 Mt in 2022; unit value about $150/t

    Elemental recovered was about 8.0 Mt

  30. Tampa sulfur opens 2022 near $282/lt as the rally extends

    USGS said the opening level already reflected late-2021 Chinese phosphate export curbs and strong phosphate prices entering the year

2021

  1. Suncor markets more than 800,000 t/a sulfur from oil sands and refineries

    The company's public sulfur page covers Fort McMurray oil sands, Alberta and BC gas plants, and Edmonton, Montreal, Sarnia, and Commerce City refining sites

  2. Port of Vancouver sulfur throughput 2.29 Mt in 2021, down 14 percent

    VFPA listed 2,291,630 tonnes, from 2,653,284 t in 2020

  3. Zhenjiang port sulfur stocks fall to about 0.52 Mt from about 1.09 Mt at year-start

    Chinese port-stock commentary put lower social stocks and reduced imports amid high CFR prices as tightening domestic availability into 2022 spring planting

  4. China domestic solid sulfur hits about 10-year highs near Yn2,200/t

    Trade press put the climb from 2020 pandemic-era lows near Yn500-950/t, with December import CFR near $310/t

  5. Sulfur prices firm into year-end on phosphate and Chinese policy

    Argus's late-2021 review said a previously stable tone gave way as DAP rallied in October and Chinese phosphate export restrictions lacked clarity

  6. Battery metals: Indonesia sulfur demand seen doubling by 2025 on HPAL

    CRU and Argus conference outlooks also projected US lithium acid consuming an extra about 1.2 Mt/a of sulfur by 2030

  7. Kuwait Al Zour refining sulfur enters the commissioning path

    Price-trend reporting expected operations to begin in early 2022 after late-2021 commissioning progress, adding Kuwaiti solid to the Middle East export slate

  8. Middle East sulfur FOB breaches $200/t; Argus $223-230/t

    The 28 October assessment followed DAP rallies and Chinese phosphate export uncertainty, with Brazil CFR near $245-246/t

  9. China NDRC phosphate export curbs begin; inspections from 15 October

    Some ports halted fresh fertilizer deliveries

  10. Phosphate base demand growth seen strong into 2022-23 in Morocco and Saudi Arabia

    CRU's 2021 conference outlook projected that expansion before tapering toward about 1.0 Mt/a more normal growth, with sulfur tracking phosphate plus...

  11. CRU: sulfur prices expected to peak in Q1 2022 after the 2021 rebound

    Peter Harrison's conference outlook saw the demand rebound persisting into 2022, with China substituting some pyrite-based acid for sulfur burning

  12. Europe sulfur market tightens as German sour gas and oil recovery fall

    Conference reporting described declining refinery recovery and German sour-gas supply, raising interest in remelter projects and seaborne or rail sulfur

  13. Alberta sour-gas sulfur declines; oil sands and BC provide offsets

    BC Insight's 2021 conference summary said the structural shift toward Fort McMurray upgrader sulfur concentrated Canadian solid-export logistics on remelt,...

  14. Argus: Chinese sulfur production may rise about 40 percent by 2025

    Four near-term projects alone were expected to add more than 2 Mt/a, permanently dampening China's long-run import growth even when phosphate runs recovered

  15. Western Canada forming projects eyed to lift Alberta exportability

    Argus said extra forming capacity is a prerequisite for converting blocked or molten oil-sands sulfur into seaborne granules when FOB clears remelt and rail...

  16. China 2020 sulfur imports plunged about 3 Mt year on year; stocks also fell

    Argus said China remained the world's largest sulfur importer, but rising domestic recovered sulfur was expected to reduce import intensity toward 2025

  17. TFI later cites sulfur plus 198 percent March 2021 to March 2022 in USDA comments

    The Fertilizer Institute stated sulfur prices rose 198 percent as a critical ammoniated-phosphate input cost, capturing the 2021-22 fertilizer cost shock

  18. DAP Morocco about $584/t FOB; Brazil MAP about $714/t CFR support sulfur

    Mid-2021 sulphur reviews put those phosphate benchmarks up 95 percent and 125 percent year on year, eight- to nine-year highs under the sulfur rally

  19. Heartland Sulphur doubles molten storage with a new Alberta tank

    The Industrial Heartland terminal completed a molten sulfur storage tank on 30 June 2021, more than doubling molten storage at the Lion Sulphur-Inter-Chem site

  20. Tampa sulfur contract reaches about $192/lt; prices triple year on year

    BC Insight put mid-June Tampa near $192/t versus about $83 in early January and $54 a year earlier, with Vancouver and Arab Gulf FOB last seen around early...

  21. Sultran logistics chain links Alberta forming sites to Port Moody and Vancouver

    The company describes coordinating export sulfur from nine inland Alberta and BC facilities via CN and CPKC to Pacific terminals, operating more than 1,500...

  22. Argus forecasts more than 3 Mt of global sulfur capacity additions in 2021

    The increment was concentrated in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, with COVID delays affecting some Middle East startups

  23. Qatar Barzan sulfur project delayed into 2021 after COVID slippage

    Industry reporting put the about 800,000 t/a forming project behind original schedule, with commissioning pushed into 2021

  24. Saudi Al Fadhili sour-gas ramp expected to add more than 1 Mt/a Middle East sulfur

    Argus and BC Insight supply tables for 2021 highlighted the gas project as a major incremental seaborne source heading into the 2022 price spike

  25. US Gulf and Canadian sulfur logistics disrupted by late-winter storms

    BC Insight conference reporting noted March and later September storm disruptions to North American sulfur logistics alongside recovering US refinery...

  26. China sulfur import dependence still near 50 percent despite rising domestic output

    Trade press put early-2021 import CFR on a path from about $141/t toward $281/t by year-end, with Middle East-Yangtze freight from about $27/t toward peaks...

  27. US elemental sulfur unit value recovers from 2020 lows toward $92/t

    USGS MCS 2023 tables show about $92.30/t in 2021 from $24.60/t in 2020, still below the 2022 spike near $150/t

  28. USGS MCS 2021: world sulfur production about 80 Mt; Canada about 4.9 Mt

    The United States was about 8.1 Mt

  29. Tampa molten sulfur contract climbs toward $83/lt as phosphate recovers

    BC Insight and Argus-linked commentary put early-January Tampa near $83/lt CFR versus about $54/lt a year earlier, the start of a multi-quarter firming cycle

Desk notes · 1

  1. Changdongbei sour-gas project adds Chinese domestic sulfur supply

    BC Insight identified the project among domestic recovered-sulfur additions reducing import needs into Yangtze phosphate plants