Moroccan sulphur imports dropped by 19pc in the first six months of 2025 to 3.55mn t, GTT data show.
This puts Morocco on a path to a more restrained import year compared to last year's overall record imports of 8.29mn t. At the current rate 2025 imports are set to be closer to 7mn t than 8mn t.
Morocco imported sulphur mainly from Kazakhstan and the UAE this year under regular contract arrangements at 1.70mn t and 1.23mn t, respectively.
Kazakhstan saw Moroccan deliveries drop by 28pc from the first half of 2024, while imports from the UAE only came off by a marginal 1pc.
Imports from Saudi Arabia fell by 9pc to 379,000t, and Qatari deliveries dropped from 155,000t in the first six months of 2024 to none imported this year.
Kazakh imports dropped despite Kashagan crushed lump quantities arriving from the long-term storage block until July, when it had been fully drawn down.
Smaller quantities arrived from Spain at 71,000t, 63,000t from Poland, and around 50,000t each from Kuwait and the US.
Some of the imported quantities from last year contributed to stock build up that has been consumed in the first half of this year, as new operations were in ramp-up phase after new sulphur burning capacity came online through in 2024. Last year two new burners started operations, one mid-year and the other in the fourth quarter.
More sulphur burner capacity is being added this year, including 187,000t/y sulphur of consumption capacity expected to start mid-2026 at Jorf Lasfar, part of an integrated phosphoric acid plant.
