July 9 International Fertilizer and Agriculture News

South Africa’s Sulfur Imports Fall 68%, Acid Output Declines

In the first five months of 2026, South Africa’s sulfur imports fell by 68% to only around 56,300 tonnes, compared with 174,183 tonnes in the same period of 2025. The decline was mainly driven by the sudden halt and reversal of Middle Eastern cargo flows, which normally account for the vast majority of South Africa’s sulfur imports.

From January to May 2025, imports included 62,600 tonnes from Kuwait, 40,000 tonnes from Oman, 38,500 tonnes from Saudi Arabia, and 31,500 tonnes from the UAE. During the same period this year, only one Middle Eastern sulfur cargo entered South Africa, around 55,000 tonnes in February. Since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran conflict on February 27, there have been no imports from any major Gulf producers.

South Africa’s domestic sulfur market is also facing competition from the Copperbelt mining sector. After the conflict began, mining companies moved quickly to secure sulfur supplies, often paying high prices for material from the U.S. Gulf Coast, Vancouver, the Black Sea, and other export regions. By contrast, South African consumers linked to the chemical, fertilizer, paper, and pulp industries were forced to reduce operating rates during the period of limited sulfur availability.

Higher logistics costs have intensified the pressure. After diesel prices rose in March and April, truck freight rates from Richards Bay and Durban to and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo peaked at around USD 1,000/tonne. Freight costs from Richards Bay to Kolwezi in the DRC rose to around USD 600/tonne, making this route less competitive than return-haul options via Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Supply tightness was particularly evident in April, when there were no sulfur warehouse inventories at Richards Bay, as volumes had already been committed to downstream buyers. As of June, several sulfur cargoes had entered Richards Bay, but sulfur availability outside committed volumes remained tight.

Bangladesh Seeks 15,000 Tonnes of Sulfur Through Tender

Bangladesh’s BCIC issued a purchase tender on July 6 for 15,000 tonnes of crushed sulfur. Delivery is scheduled for September 7, with shipment to Chittagong within 30 days after the letter of credit is opened.

BCIC had previously issued a purchase tender in April for the same volume of sulfur, but no award is understood to have been made.

Mosaic Further Curtails Phosphate Production in Brazil

U.S. fertilizer producer Mosaic said on July 8 that it will further reduce its phosphate operations in Brazil, as restrictions on global phosphate raw material supply continue to push production costs higher.

Due to constrained raw material availability, especially beyond the Strait of Hormuz, blending operations at Candeias in the northeastern state of Bahia and Catalão in the central-western state of Goiás will be temporarily suspended. The combined capacity of the two sites is 2.5 million tonnes/year.

Mosaic’s 1 million tonnes/year unit in Palmeirante, in the northern state of Tocantins, and its 700,000 tonnes/year unit in Sorriso, in the central-western state of Mato Grosso, will reduce output. Mosaic did not specify the scale of the cuts.

Mosaic’s 1 million tonnes/year plant in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, is also scheduled to be gradually idled from September. Facing reduced global supply and rising sulfur prices, Mosaic has adjusted its operating plan for the second half of 2026 and temporarily adjusted output at its facilities.

Mosaic had previously announced that its Tapira plant in Minas Gerais would temporarily halt phosphate rock production, and that measure will be extended. The plant has capacity of 2.2 million tonnes/year. Phosphate rock production at the company’s Catalão site has also been suspended.

The Fospar plant in Paranaguá, in the southern state of Paraná, will continue normal operations, while fertilizer production is expected to continue until the end of September, when sulfuric acid inventories are expected to be depleted, Mosaic said. The unit blends more than 500,000 tonnes of fertilizer annually.

The 600,000 tonnes/year unit in Cajati, in southeastern São Paulo state, will continue operating, relying on sulfur imports to maintain production of animal nutrition products, including monosodium phosphate and dicalcium phosphate.

Mosaic told Argus that the reductions are a temporary response to unusual market conditions and do not represent a shift in the company’s long-term strategy. Full operating capacity is expected to resume as global sulfur supply normalizes. The statement said restrictions in Brazil are expected to continue until sulfur supply and prices stabilize and international shipping routes return to normal.

In early April, Mosaic announced the closure and sale of its 243,000 tonnes/year P2O5 Araxá SSP production site in Minas Gerais. It also suspended mining activities at its 1.3 million tonnes/year Patrocínio mine, also located in Minas Gerais.

Mosaic will also further reduce production at its Bartow plant in Florida and Faustina plant in Louisiana. Production will also be reduced at the Riverview plant in Florida and the Uncle Sam plant in Louisiana.

India Third-Quarter Phosphoric Acid Settlement Holds at USD 1,700/tonne P2O5 CFR

Indian importer Coromandel has reached an agreement with Jordanian producer JPMC for third-quarter phosphoric acid deliveries at USD 1,700/tonne P2O5 CFR, with 30 days of credit.

The price is up USD 340/tonne P2O5 from the second quarter, mainly driven by firm sulfur prices. India’s dry bulk sulfur prices rose by 49% in the second quarter.

Mosaic to Further Restrict Phosphate Output in the U.S. and Brazil

U.S. fertilizer producer Mosaic said today that it will further reduce phosphate operations at some facilities in North America and Brazil due to limited raw material supply. Availability has declined because traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains largely stalled.

In a statement, the company said that as sulfur inventories decline and supply availability and fertilizer affordability remain constrained, Mosaic is taking additional temporary operating measures.

“These actions are a temporary response to unusual market conditions and do not change the company’s long-term strategy or commitment to global agriculture,” Mosaic said.

Mosaic will further reduce production at its Bartow plant in Florida and its Faustina plant in Louisiana, where operating rates had already been reduced earlier this year. Production will also be reduced at Mosaic’s Riverview plant in Florida and Uncle Sam plant in Louisiana.

Several customers said the Faustina plant is expected to be fully shut down, as it had already been idled earlier this year, while Bartow operations may continue at a lower rate if the sulfur supply outlook turns more positive. Mosaic did not provide specific details on the scale of operational reductions at individual plants.

In Brazil, after the producer halted and closed SSP production and mining activities in April, additional temporary restrictions and facility idling are now underway. In May, the producer also suspended phosphate rock production in Brazil.

The additional restriction news came nearly one week after the U.S. government announced a suspension of countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate imports, opening the door for OCP phosphates to return to the U.S. market. Mosaic had accused imports from Morocco in 2011 of materially injuring the U.S. market.

In May this year, the producer announced it would withdraw at least 7 million tonnes of phosphate production guidance for 2026 and had begun measures to reduce production at its Louisiana and Florida plants while also reducing output in Brazil.

The reduction in phosphate mining is also directly linked to limited raw material supply caused by the continuing conflict in the Middle East Gulf, which has forced phosphate producers both domestically and internationally to cut output.

U.S. and Iran Threaten Escalation of Hostilities: Update

The United States and Iran said on Wednesday that the interim agreement signed last month has effectively ended, with both sides threatening to escalate attacks after overnight exchanges of fire in the Middle East Gulf region.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” President Trump said, referring to the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding he signed on June 18. Speaking publicly during meetings with foreign leaders at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said he would order the Pentagon to launch a new round of strikes on Iran and could reimpose a maritime blockade on Iranian trade.

Trump said he “does not want to deal with” Iran’s leadership again, calling them “scum” and “sick people.” But he still appeared to leave the door open to continued negotiations with Iran, several rounds of which have taken place since the agreement was signed.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said: “Terrorist Trump has officially declared the Islamabad memorandum of understanding terminated.” It added that “it is wrong, both logically and rationally, to continue believing that Trump has also officially declared death.”

According to state news outlet Press TV, Tehran will fully close navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and respond strongly to any further U.S. attacks.

The resumption of intense clashes between U.S. and Iranian forces pushed oil prices higher. As of 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, August Nymex WTI rose by USD 4.86/bbl, or about 7%, to USD 75.30/bbl.

Trump had promoted the decline in crude futures since the U.S.-Iran interim agreement was signed in June. On Wednesday, he acknowledged that an escalation in the conflict would reverse that trend.

“Every time we touch them, prices go up a little bit,” Trump said, referring to crude futures. “Maybe we’ll do something else to push it up a little, but I don’t think it will push it up much at all,” he said.

The June 18 interim agreement had been intended to introduce a 60-day ceasefire and begin the process of gradually reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. U.S. forces launched strikes on Iranian defense targets late on July 7 after Iran attacked vessels sailing through the southern corridor of the Strait.

The Revolutionary Guard said it retaliated with drones and missiles against U.S. military bases in the Middle East Gulf, including the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.

The June 18 agreement called for the full restoration of commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for limited sanctions relief for Tehran. But key terms had already begun to unravel before the August 21 deadline for the countries to finalize the details of a peace agreement, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program.

The United States also revoked authorizations on Tuesday for purchases of Iranian crude oil, refined products, and petrochemical products.

Malaysia’s FGV Expands B100 Biodiesel Trial

Malaysian integrated agricultural company FGV said on July 7 that it will expand its 100% biodiesel, or B100, trial from vehicle applications to plantation operations, in order to test unmixed palm-based biodiesel in real-world conditions.

The pilot project will run over the next six months at the Tun Abdul Razak Agricultural Research Centre, or PPPTAR, estate in Jerantut. It will involve 17 pieces of machinery, including tractors, agricultural machines, generators, and four-wheel-drive vehicles.

FGV previously launched a four-month trial in July 2024 using B100 fuel. During the phased project implementation, the company will monitor fuel consumption, engine performance, operational reliability, maintenance requirements, and fuel quality across different assets.

FGV said the B100 biodiesel used in the trial will be produced from locally sourced palm oil.

During the plantation trial, machinery will face extended operating hours, varied plantation terrain, high operating temperatures, and different workload requirements across asset types. This will allow FGV to collect comprehensive real-world operational data.

Malaysia raised its on-road biodiesel blending target to B15 from May to strengthen energy security following the U.S.-Iran war.