Section: CRUSU News

UK and EU policymakers are trying to bring down fertilizer costs without losing control of safety, climate and trade risks.

A coalition of European energy-intensive industries, including Fertilizers Europe, has called for an EU-wide cap on electricity network tariffs, warning that rising grid charges are becoming a “structural burden” on their global competitiveness and threatening investment in decarbonisation.

Avenir Minerals is moving to take Fox River Resources private to gain full control of the Martison phosphate project in northern Ontario, signalling serious intent to advance a rare, large-scale igneous phosphate asset aimed at North American fertilizer and battery markets.

Russia’s EuroChem has brought online a new sulphuric acid plant in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl Region, creating one of the country’s largest sulphuric units with a design capacity of 800,000 t/y.

Strait of Hormuz disruptions linked to the Iran war have choked off fertilizer shipments from the Middle East and pushed prices sharply higher, prompting a wave of emergency support and trade measures as governments try to shield farmers ahead of key planting seasons.

China’s sulphuric acid exports fell 49% year on year to 666,808 t in the first four months of 2026 as Beijing moved from quota controls to a full export halt from May, removing a key supplier from the seaborne market at a time of already tight balances.

Mosaic has withdrawn its 2026 phosphate production guidance and is cutting rates at key US and Brazilian plants as record sulphur prices compress stripping margins in an already tight phosphate market.

Three leading regional fertilizer producers have come together to create the Southeast Asia Fertilizer Association (SEAFA). The new association formally announced its formation at an industry conference in Bali on 1 April 2026. The founding members are Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) of Indonesia, Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad of Malaysia, and Brunei Fertilizer Industries (BFI) of Brunei Darussalam. Under the founding agreement, Brunei Darussalam will host the association’s secretariat. Pupuk Indonesia has been appointed to provide SEAFA’s first chairman, President Director of Pupuk Indonesia Rahmad Pribadi, with Petronas Chemicals Group providing a co-chair. The chairmanship will rotate annually between the association’s members.

Brazil‑focused phosphate developer Aguia is nearing final approval for its Tres Estradas project in southern Brazil, with state environmental agency FEPAM now reviewing last‑minute changes ahead of issuing an operating licence.

Itafos has amended its long-term sulfuric acid supply contract with Rio Tinto’s Kennecott copper business, locking in a new pricing basis and more flexible volumes to support US phosphate production at Conda, Idaho through 2029.