BC Insight Price Trends on September 18 reported Vancouver FOB sulphur firmed 50 dollars per tonne at the upper end to a 1,100 to 1,200 dollars per tonne band.
The move was tied to a confirmed Southern Africa sale in the open web summary, not a desk midpoint invented from the range.
Middle East spot sulphur was quoted at 865 to 900 dollars per tonne FOB, described as a three-month low in the same release.
Hormuz congestion left roughly 400,000 tonnes of loaded backlog rising toward 600,000 tonnes on thirteen vessels waiting to transit, quantifying why Gulf FOB cuts do not restore seaborne flows overnight.
China imported 385,403 tonnes of sulphur in July, up 162 percent month on month but down 65 percent year on year in customs data cited by BC Insight.
January through July imports totalled 2.65 million tonnes, down 59 percent year on year, while Chinese port stocks were about 947,000 tonnes in late August.
The domestic weekly average fell from a record 9,875 yuan per tonne on 11 June to 7,625 yuan in late August, a correction Shengyishe's September 18 benchmark at 7,685.67 yuan continues.
SMM's week-ending September 18 review put Shandong elemental sulphur EXW averaging 7,453.5 yuan, down 7.2 percent week on week, and kept Middle East FOB at an 855 dollars per tonne average.
SunSirs granular China import offers near 1,000 to 1,050 dollars per tonne for the week of September 15 remain above domestic benchmarks, preserving import parity floors.
For Alberta forming plants and the Vancouver stem, a 1,100 to 1,200 dollar FOB band pays remelt, rail, forming, and terminal charges that sub-100 dollar Vancouver averages in 2024 could not clear.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority reported 3,507,428 metric tonnes of sulphur exports in 2025, up 5 percent year on year, with China still the largest listed destination at 1.30 million tonnes.
Alberta provincial sulfur stocks at 11.66 million tonnes in July 2025 in open AER-derived reporting show the 2025 draw that higher FOB levels enabled.
UkrAgroConsult's September 18 US sulfur shortage piece cited Tampa delivered above 1,100 dollars per tonne since May, the Atlantic mirror of Pacific firmness.
Desk read: BC Insight 18 September is the Canadian price print desks needed after June Discovery Alert bands near 990 to 1,100 dollars. Hold the published 1,100 to 1,200 dollar FOB band with 18 September provenance until the next open sale print moves it.