Phosphates
Overview
The global phosphates market has witnessed increasing volatility, in response to military conflicts, political tensions and changing market dynamics. Price fluctuations have continued to buffet the market, with increasing demand from south and Southeast Asia the main regions driving consumption growth. Rising raw material prices and improved affordability have lifted prices once again.
Phosphates' usage is also not solely limited to fertilizers. Battery-material suppliers are increasingly seeking to source phosphate rock and specialty phosphates-based products to meet the rapidly rising demand for lithium-iron-phosphate batteries for electric vehicle production.
Our extensive phosphates coverage includes DAP, MAP, TSP and SSP, as well as raw materials phosphate rock and phosphoric acid, with assessments also spanning feed products MCP and DCP. Argus has many decades of experience covering the phosphates market and incorporate our multi-commodity market expertise in key areas including sulphur and ammonia to provide the full market narrative.
Argus support market participants with:
- Daily and weekly phosphates price assessments, proprietary data and market commentary
- Short and medium to long-term forecasting, modelling and analysis of processed phosphate and phosphate rock prices, supply, demand, trade and projects
- Bespoke consulting project support
Latest phosphate news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global phosphate industry.
No quick fix for high US sulfur prices
No quick fix for high US sulfur prices
Houston, 18 September (Argus) — Government efforts to reduce costs for US sulfur consumers would not be as simple as incentivizing rail shipments, while export controls could worsen the conditions that have driven prices to record highs. Florida lawmakers recently expressed concern about high sulfur prices in a letter to the White House after prices hit a record high with the third quarter Tampa settlement at $705/long tonne (lt) delivered. Those prices have led to cutbacks in phosphate fertilizer production. The US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Transportation have floated the possibility of using railroads to better move domestic sulfur supplies, or providing incentives to keep sulfur in the US in an effort to address farmer affordability issues. Many of the refineries on the US Gulf coast — the main source of sulfur production and exports in the US — are not serviced by rail and rely on trucks to deliver sulfur to local customers and terminals. Because of this, such efforts would likely do little to address fundamental logistical limitations of the US sulfur market. US sulfur production in 2025 totaled 7.48mn t, 59pc of which came from the Gulf coast, while consumption reached 7.61mn t, according to the US Geological Survey . Similarly on the west coast, a lack of rail infrastructure encourages sulfur exports, regardless of where prices sit. Exports from both regions, because of domestic logistical limitations, essentially serve to balance the US market. The balance of sulfur that supplies many inland US customers mostly comes from Canada, shipped in molten form by rail. The US in January-July 2026 imported 1.08mn t of sulfur from Canada, more than double the volume from the same period a year earlier, accounting for more than 99pc of total imports so far in 2026. Overall, sulfur imports are up by more than 43pc on the year despite the steady threat of tariffs on Canadian sulfur. Although Canadian sulfur has remained exempt because of its eligibility under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, the threat of tariffs remains a concern as relations between the US and Canada have deteriorated. Although considered unlikely by most market participants, any duties levied on Canadian sulfur would only raise domestic prices and place further strain on consumers. Global markets driving sulfur costs A severe imbalance in the global sulfur market, driven mostly by demand-induced deficits that began in 2025, has shifted to a substantial supply-driven deficit in 2026 resulting from the ongoing war in the Mideast. At the beginning of the US-Israel with Iran, attacks on vessels severely cut shipments through the strait of Hormuz, impacting around 50pc of globally-traded sulfur. Prices at the US Gulf coast increased from a midpoint of $491/t fob on 26 February to a high of $1,175/t fob on 13 August, supported by war-driven export demand. Export prices in the US Gulf since mid-August have fallen, reaching a midpoint of $1,025/t fob on 17 September. Weaker demand and buyer resistance, mostly from fertilizer and nickel producers, has applied pressure on suppliers and driven prices lower. The war in the Middle East and its impact on supply and freight rates has been the primary driver of the sulfur price rally in 2026. Even if the war were to end imminently, elevated prices would likely linger through at least the end of the year because of damage to production facilities, terminals and infrastructure in the region. But even prior to the war in the Middle East, a global supply deficit tightened markets during the second half of 2025. Surging demand from nickel producers in Indonesia and copper producers in sub-Saharan Africa drove prices to historically elevated levels, despite steady supply. An export ban implemented by Russia beginning in the fourth quarter of 2025 marked the first constraint on supply, squeezing an already undersupplied market. Any suspension of exports from the US would only tighten markets further and is raise global prices, placing more strain on the global economy. Removing the ability for US producers to export would also impact refinery operations because of the lack of storage across US infrastructure. Some estimate that if there were a moratorium on sulfur exports, refineries would have to greatly reduce their operating rates. By Chris Mullins Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Avenira to export phosphate rock to China from 2027
Avenira to export phosphate rock to China from 2027
Sydney, 16 September (Argus) — Australian mining company Avenira will export 500,000 t/yr of phosphate rock to China under a four-year offtake agreement with Chinese chemical manufacturer Hebang Biotechnology, the company said today. The agreement will account for more than 80pc of the output from Avenira's 600,000 t/yr Wonarah mine when commercial production begins. Avenira plans to start exporting by 30 June 2027 after output commences in October-December 2026, it said in August. The company has delayed production several times from its original target of first exports by November 2025 , as announced in May 2025. Hebang holds a 49pc stake in Avenira and will act as its exclusive distributor in China. Avenira expects to export 25,000 t/month of phosphate ore via the port of Darwin, around 960km northwest of the mine. The project has an initial 23-month mine life and the company aims to extend production beyond 2028. Avenira plans to supply rock to third-party buyers and to the lithium iron phosphate market. Australian phosphate producer PRL, currently the only producer to export phosphate rock, restarted its acquired 650,000 t/yr Ardmore mine in September 2025 and has since exported 91,300t across three shipments, it said on 28 August. The firm also exports phosphate rock from its 620,000 t/yr Christmas Island operations. By Susannah Cornford Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US phosphate market stunned by OCP, CHS project
US phosphate market stunned by OCP, CHS project
Houston, 28 August (Argus) — Several US phosphate market players this week were stunned by the news that Moroccan phosphate producer OCP and domestic agribusiness CHS will work in a partnership to build the first phosphate production plant on US soil in over 40 years. The announcement made on 26 August that OCP and CHS will build a roughly 1.3mn metric tonnes (t) phosphate fertilizer production plant in Waggaman, Louisiana, took both the domestic and global market by surprise as OCP is currently in the middle of a review on the countervailing duties against its phosphate imports into the US. The duties were implemented by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) in 2021 after US producer Mosaic alleged that OCP materially injured the US market with its phosphate imports. In late June US president Donald Trump said he would temporarily suspend countervailing duties on certain Moroccan phosphate imports until early 2027 to address domestic farmer fertilizer supply concerns. In late July Commerce recommended that the duties remain on Moroccan phosphate imports because OCP's phosphate production is still subsidized by its government. Now the International Trade Commission (ITC) is considering whether removing the duties will once again materially injure the US phosphate industry. The ITC's ruling is expected soon, as the final results of the duty review should be published around 28 October, 240 days from the start of the review, according to a Federal Register notice. But market conversations were also active this week because just one day before the project's announcement, Mosaic announced it would reduce a portion of its workforce at its Uncle Sam and Faustina, Louisiana, facilities as phosphate operations there have been curtailed by the ongoing sulfur supply shortage. Mosaic has been monitoring the sulfur supply shock and took action to manage costs. It has idled phosphate production at the Uncle Sam and Faustina facilities, the duration of which could exceed six months, according to the announcement. Ammonia production at Faustina will continue uninterrupted, Mosaic said. Following the OCP, CHS partnership announcement, and the wave of Mosaic layoffs, many market players are puzzled by the US government's most recent action. "It doesn't make a lot of sense that we are going to build a new fertilizer plant when the plants right next door are potentially closing," one trader said. "Why wouldn't the US government just subsidize Mosaic's business instead of subsidizing another government," they added. Other traders expressed uncertainty of the project all together, stating that the $450mn price tag for the project seems implausible given how much other producers are likely to spend on their own production operations and maintenance. The action on OCP focusing on shipping phosphoric acid to the facility in Waggaman instead of phosphate rock also caught attention, as it spares the plant's owners from dealing with gypsum containment on US soil but sets the operation up instead to face elevated freight costs. The US government has been vocal recently in its focus of bolstering domestic fertilizer production, hence the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) presence at the OCP-CHS project announcement event. CHS has applied for the USDA's Fertilizer Investment and Expansion for Long-term Domestic Supply grant program that only recently stopped taking applications, meaning the joint venture and other projects could soon receive funding from the federal government. By Taylor Zavala Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
CHS, OCP launch venture to produce US phosphate
CHS, OCP launch venture to produce US phosphate
Houston, 26 August (Argus) — Moroccan phosphate producer OCP will work in partnership with US agribusiness CHS to build a new facility in Waggaman, Louisiana, that will produce 1.3mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of phosphate fertilizer. The $450mn phosphate production facility will be built in the Cornerstone Energy Park alongside CF Industries' Waggaman ammonia production facility, a key input for turning phosphate rock into fertilizer. The announcement comes just a couple months after President Donald Trump announced that countervailing duties on OCP phosphate imports will be suspended until early 2027 to relieve rising fertilizer costs for domestic growers. The plant will be the first phosphate production facility built in the US in 42 years, though no timeline for the plant's development was revealed. Once all project-related and funding approvals are finalized, construction should take about 24 months. The facility is expected to produce commonly used phosphate fertilizers such as DAP and MAP, according to OCP. The project will also include storage for both raw materials and finished products, as well as storage tanks for merchant-grade phosphoric acid. By Taylor Zavala Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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