In the first half of 2019, China has exported a total of 203,800 MT of potassium sulfate with the export value at 109 million USD, seeing a 6089.7% and 5723.6% increase respectively compared with the same period of 2018.

From January 1, 2019, China has cancelled the tariffs imposed on exports of fertilizers and other commodities. Before that, export of potassium sulfate will be levied a high tariff of 600 Yuan per ton, which may inhibit the potash fertilizer export.

China doesn’t have abundant potassium resources. The potassium chloride is dependent on import and can mainly guarantee domestic supply, so the export volume of potassium chloride is not large in 2019. However, potassium sulfate is a secondary processing product, and has been oversupplied in the domestic market due to the substantial increase in production capacity in recent years. Therefore, it is urgent to eliminate excess production capacity through export. After the zero-tariff policy, the  potassium sulfate export has seen a big increase in 2019.

According to China Customs, the potassium sulfate export has seen a significant increase in the first six months of 2019 from the same period of 2018. In April, the potassium sulfate export hit 84,456 MT with the increase rate peaking at 15256.8%.

(Data Source: China Customs, China Fertilizer Web)

China’s potassium sulfate average export price was kept above 470 USD/MT in the first half of 2019. In April, it also reached the highest record at 565.81 USD/MT. 

(Data Source: China Customs, China Fertilizer Web)