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.

The directive specifically targets the use of Russia’s railway infrastructure. For landlocked Kazakhstan, rail serves as the primary economic artery for moving bulk sulphur to key Baltic export hubs like Ust-Luga. While alternative routes via truck or the Volga-Don canal to the Black Sea exist, moving the vast quantities of sulphur involved through these channels presents immense logistical and financial challenges.

The move does not directly contradict the allowance for third-party transit within Russia’s own export ban, but in effect, it makes large-scale Kazakh sulphur exports prohibitively difficult. Russia’s export ban, in place since November 2025 and recently extended to 30 June 2026, explicitly permits material from other countries to pass through its territory. This new directive, however, blocks the primary logistical method required for that transit, rendering the allowance unusable in practice for the most critical routes.

The decision is set to worsen an already significant global supply deficit. The implications are particularly severe for major importers like Morocco, which sourced approximately 45% of its total imports (2.94 million t/a) from Kazakhstan in 2025. As the conflict in the Middle East has largely blocked product moving through the Strait of Hormuz, global buyers have become increasingly reliant on such alternative sources.