Join us at IFA in Monaco – and online

The 34th IFA Annual Conference in Monaco is not just about fertilizers in general – it is also about the sulphur and sulphuric acid value chain that underpins phosphate production. If you are at the event, please come and say hello at the CRU stand in the expo. You can pick up a free print copy of our special Sulphur IFA edition and talk to CRU colleagues about subscribing to the magazine or taking a free trial to explore our online content and newsletters.

This conference issue brings together two strands that matter a great deal to sulphur readers in 2026. In “The impact of fertilizer policies on sulphur markets”, we look at how decisions in capitals and boardrooms are now driving sulphur and phosphate pricing more than traditional seasonal fundamentals. The article traces the chain reaction from the Middle East conflict and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz through to sulphur availability, extreme price levels, and tighter phosphate markets – and shows how export bans, tariffs, sanctions and subsidy systems have turned sulphur into a highly policy sensitive commodity.

Alongside that, “AI troubleshooting in sulphuric acid production” focuses on the plant level response to this environment. Omar Talib, co founder and President of ControlRooms.ai, introduces an AI Troubleshooting Agent deployed at a major acid producer, showing how multivariate anomaly detection and better information flows between operations, engineering and reliability teams can cut mean time to detect and mean time to resolve process issues. The case study illustrates how early warnings on blower vibration, fan current and condenser performance helped avoid failures and improve throughput, without changing the core process or control logic.

Taken together, these pieces capture both sides of today’s sulphur story: a market pulled by geopolitics and fertilizer policy, and an industry looking to data and AI to keep plants reliable and resilient under pressure.

If you are not in Monaco this week, you can still read all of the Sulphur conference content. We’ve ungated the IFA articles online, and you can download the Sulphur IFA edition via the magazine downloads page to see the full set of stories we’ve taken to the event. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can use that route to explore the issue and then take a free trial to access our wider library of Sulphur and sulphuric acid coverage.

I hope you enjoy the Monaco edition and look forward to hearing your thoughts – whether that’s at the stand, in your inbox, or via our online platforms.

Richard Hands
Editor, Sulphur