WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD News) — Access to fertilizer has been a major concern for growers this season as geopolitical events continue slowing supplies.
Corey Rosenbusch with the American Fertilizer Institute said sulfur is the nutrient drawing the most attention right now because it is both an important fertilizer and a key raw material used to manufacture phosphate fertilizer.
“The bigger story that I don’t think actually has hit yet is sulfur. Sulfur is not only an important fertilizer, but it’s a key raw material for manufacturing phosphate fertilizer. More than half of the globally traded sulfur passes through the Strait of Hormuz. We have not seen any ships come out with any of the fertilizer, any of the sulfur. We saw sulfur trading as high as $1,300 a metric ton from the Gulf near the Houston area.”
Rosenbusch said he believes much of the sulfur supply is being bought by China for mining operations.
“Mainly being bought up by the Chinese for mining operations. If they’re going to use it in their operations to mine copper or nickel, that’s getting $18,000 a metric ton. They can afford to run up that price when phosphate fertilizers only sell for $600 a ton. It’s at a point now where it’s not even affordable to manufacture that product. So, you’ve got Morocco, the Middle East, the United States, all starting to shutter phosphate production right now.”
Rosenbusch said the sulfur issues have not shown up in the United States just yet, but he will be keeping a close eye on those markets in the coming months.
Meanwhile, energy markets are also reacting to ongoing geopolitical developments.
President Trump said a deal with Iran could come tomorrow, but GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan said markets remain cautious.
“I don’t think anyone really thinks it might be the final deal. We’ve been back-and-forth on these potential deals for five months, and we still haven’t got to an end deal. So, we’ll take it as it comes. That’s what we’ve been doing for five months. We really have no idea whether or not this will be the final deal, so I think oil markets have been a little bit pessimistic and for good reason.”
De Haan said he is also watching developments in Ukraine, where the military continues pushing back on Russia. He said recent attacks on Russian refineries will keep just as much pressure on oil markets as the conflict involving Iran.
