Trade flows have shifted in the global sulfur market with Russia showing an appetite for imports following supply disruptions, trade sources said.
A deal was reported in the $/mt CFR Russia for a 35,000 mt vessel loading in October, an Americas-based global trader said. The trader did not provide any further details about the deal, such as the counterparties, arrival port or origin, but said it was concluded by a Russian fertilizer producer.
Russia is one of the largest sulfur exporters globally with 1.038 million metric tons sent out in 2024, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data. Of those exports, Brazil and China were the top recipients with 169,000 mt and 125,000 mt, respectively.
The 2024 export levels fell around 74.3% from 2019, when Russia exported about 3.9 million mt of sulfur, according to the data. The decrease in exports was attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war as well as a “switch to sweet gas production and higher domestic demand for sulfur for fertilizer production,” according to Yuya Pan, a sulfur analyst with S&P Global Commodity Insights.
The sulfur market has gone “upside down” with Russia changing from being one of the largest exporters to seeking imports following supply disruptions after Ukrainian attacks on its refineries, a Turkey-based trader said.
The trader said he had seen multiple requests from Russian market players for sulfur cargoes.
Platts reported Oct. 6 on a Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery, with market sources saying that the facility’s largest crude distillation unit — representing approximately 40% of capacity — went offline as a result of the strike. “In the last two months, Ukraine has attacked at least 15 Russian refineries, reducing refinery runs by over 500,000 b/d, with refinery throughput falling below 5 million b/d,” ANZ commodity analysts said.
Over the past few weeks, global sulfur market participants anticipated a possible announcement from the Russian government regarding a sulfur export ban due to major supply disruptions in the region.
Looking ahead, with the sulfur market already tight, a European trader said the market could see major changes. “If Russia regularly imports now, the world is already so short that it could mess up the whole market,” the trader said.
Source: Platts
