Brazil: risk of sulfur stock exhaustion by October
Il Sindacato Siprifert lancia l'allarme: prezzi record e calo delle importazioni minacciano la produzione di fertilizzanti
Quick Look
- Brazil risks running out of sulfur reserves by October due to soaring international prices and falling imports.
- Siprifert warns that the shortage, exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine, threatens agricultural fertilizer production.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Il Brasile importa oltre il 90% del suo fabbisogno di zolfo. La produzione russa è calata a causa della guerra in Ucraina.
Brazilian industry sulfur stockpiles could run out in October, while the prices of the raw material, which is essential for the production of agricultural fertilizers, have reached record levels on international markets. The scenario was denounced by the Union of Fertilizer Raw Material Industries (Siprifert).
Sulfur is used to produce sulfuric acid, a component of fertilizers, as well as in the chemical industry and in mineral processing. Brazil is heavily dependent on imports: domestic production is around 200,000 tons, less than 10% of domestic demand.
In the first half of 2026, imports decreased by 42% in volume, while spending increased by 60%, reaching 380 million dollars. The shortage is mainly linked to the drop in Russian production caused by the war in Ukraine and the increase in demand from Indonesia, which has stepped up domestic nickel refining, a process that requires sulfuric acid.
"In December 2024, a ton of sulfur cost 100 dollars. Today it is at 1,200," Siprifert director Bernardo Silva told the newspaper Estadao, underlining the risk to the economic sustainability of industries. Faced with the scarcity, Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and China have limited or suspended exports of sulfur or sulfuric acid to preserve domestic supplies.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Esaurimento scorte di zolfo in Brasile entro ottobre.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Quali misure adotterà il governo brasiliano per mitigare la crisi?
- L'aumento dei costi si rifletterà sui prezzi finali dei prodotti agricoli?
