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    Sulphur 419 Jul-Aug 2025

    16 July 2025

    Anti-dumping duty on insoluble sulphur

    INDIA

    Anti-dumping duty on insoluble sulphur

    India has imposed five-year anti-dumping duties on six Chinese imports, including insoluble sulphur, mainly used in the vulcanisation of rubber. The move follows an investigation by India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) last year, following a complaint by Oriental Carbon and Chemicals in March 2024. The period covered by the investigation was from 1st Jan 2023 to 31st Dec 2023, while the injury investigation period ran from April 2020 to 31st Dec 2023. DGTR made a determination that Chinese exporters had been selling the six products at unfairly low prices, adversely affecting the profitability of Indian producers. DGTR says that the duties it has imposed are “aligned with WTO norms” and aim to protect domestic industries from unfair trade practices and address the growing trade imbalance with China. According to the trade authority, the market share of the countries subject to duties “has been significantly increasing” while local Indian industry’s capacities are “lying idle” amid growing demand.

    Latest in Asia

    Nickel Industries starts up ENC acid plant

    Nickel Industries announced started up the sulphuric acid plant at its new Excelsior Nickel Cobalt (ENC) HPAL project in the final week of June. The ENC Project is a massive, multi-billion dollar high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) facility located in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is operated by Australia’s Nickel Industries to supply battery-grade materials for the electric vehicle (EV) market. At capacity, it is expected to yield roughly 72,000 t/a of contained nickel equivalent as mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), nickel sulphate, and nickel cathode.

    Russia bans rail transport of Kazakh sulphur

    Russia has ordered a “temporary cessation” of rail transport of all sulphur originating from Kazakhstan that is destined for Russian seaports and railway checkpoints, representing a significant policy shift, according to an official order from the Federal Agency for Railway Transport (Roszheldor). The directive, which took effect from May 26th, orders a halt to the loading and movement of Kazakh sulphur “until further notice.” While the measure is officially described as temporary, the order provides no specific timeline for when the transit might resume. The action cites instructions from Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister, D.V. Manturov, as its basis.

    Restart for Hongda smelter

    Hongda's 100,000 t/a zinc smelter, in China's Sichuan Province, completed scheduled maintenance and equipment upgrading and officially resumed production on 21st June, the company said. The smelter had been shut down for planned maintenance since January, during which time a modernisation project for the electrolytic zinc smelting system was also carried out. Following the nearly six-month revamp, the resumption of production is expected to improve overall operational efficiency, reduce unit production costs, and increase the utilisation rate, The company said. The stable supply of sulphuric acid generated by the zinc smelter will effectively leverage the synergies of the "sulphur-phosphorus" industrial chain in the company, an help alleviate cost pressures on the company's phosphorus chemical business segment.