News

Tight global sulfur supplies continue to drive fertilizer prices

The vice president of government and public affairs with The Mosaic Company says continued constraints on global sulfur supplies are dramatically impacting the company’s ability to produce phosphate fertilizer.

Sarah Fedorchuk says the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, as well as export controls from major sulfur producers like Russia, China, and India, have reduced available supplies.

“The 10-year average price of sulfur is about $170, and now that price has gone up to well over $1000,” she says.

She tells Brownfield the company reported a net loss of $273 million in the second quarter of 2026.

“Producing phosphate fertilizer at the current sulfur prices puts us even further in the red.”  She says, “We’ve had to make some really tough decisions like idling production in Brazil and in Louisiana in order to try just to keep our head above water until things get better in the market.”

Fedorchuk says the industry and the federal government are exploring ways to boost domestic sulfur production, but that will take time.

“The next 12 to 18 months, unless something major happens worldwide, we anticipate sulfur pricing to stay high and sulfur demand to stay high,” she says.

She says sulfur is 40% of the company’s input costs, so as long as those costs remain elevated, it’s not likely farmers will see much relief in fertilizer prices.

AUDIO: Sarah Fedorchuk – The Mosaic Company