Overview
- China plans to stop sulfuric acid exports starting in May to conserve domestic stocks for planting season, Bloomberg reported, and officials in Beijing have not publicly confirmed the policy.
- Sulfuric acid is a core ingredient used to make phosphate fertilizers like DAP and MAP, and China led global exports by value in 2024 at about $349 million, according to trade data cited by the articles.
- Fertilizer prices have risen across all eight major products in recent weeks, with urea posting the largest gains, DTN market data show.
- Tight supply followed Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which slowed Persian Gulf shipments through a corridor that handles roughly 45% of global sulfur flows.
- In the United States, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said about 80% of farmers locked in fertilizer last fall, which limits near-term exposure to the latest price surge.