Iran war hits China’s sulphur imports as economic fallout from conflict grows

Supplies of sulphur – a key fertiliser ingredient – are tightening in China just as the spring planting season begins

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A person stands on the roof of a building looking at a plume of smoke rising after a strike on Tehran on Tuesday. The escalating conflict in the Middle East is leading to tight supplies of sulphur in China. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:00pm, 8 Mar 2026

The escalating conflict in the Middle East is having a direct impact on China’s access to sulphur – a raw material for producing fertiliser – just as the country enters its vital spring planting season.

With China sourcing a large chunk of its sulphur from the Persian Gulf, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is already sending prices for the chemical shooting upwards as Chinese buyers complain of tightening supplies.

China relies on imports for 47 per cent of its sulphur supply, according to a December report by Guosen Securities. More than half of those imports come from six Persian Gulf nations, which ship goods through the Strait of Hormuz to reach international markets.

But Iran has declared the waterway closed to commercial shipping amid its war with the United States and Israel, sending freight costs soaring.

The disruption is already creating issues in China – the world’s largest grain producer, where farmers consume vast quantities of fertilisers and other agrichemicals each year. Sulphur is a key ingredient used in phosphate fertilisers and pesticides, as well as a range of other chemical products.

Allan Pickett, executive director for fertilisers research at S&P Global Energy, said the price of fertiliser delivered in mainland China averaged US$520 in January and February. Prices were already rising as one of the northern hemisphere’s main planting seasons began, and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could drive them even higher, he added.

Iran war hits China’s sulphur imports as economic fallout from conflict grows

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Supplies of sulphur – a key fertiliser ingredient – are tightening in China just as the spring planting season begins

Supplies of sulphur – a key fertiliser ingredient – are tightening in China just as the spring planting season begins