Key facts
- Mosaic is further reducing phosphate operations in Brazil and the US.
- Global feedstock supply constraints, particularly sulfur, are pressuring production costs.
- Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are cited as a factor affecting supply.
- Several Brazilian facilities will face suspensions, reductions, or mothballing.
- US facilities in Florida and Louisiana will also see reduced output.
US fertilizer producer Mosaic announced on July 8 that it will further reduce its phosphate operations in Brazil and the United States due to global constraints on feedstock supply, which are pressuring production costs. The company specifically cited disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz as a factor affecting supply.
In Brazil, blending operations at Candeias and Catalao will be temporarily suspended, impacting a combined production capacity of 2.5 million metric tonnes per year. Output will also be reduced at Mosaic's Palmeirante (1 million t/yr) and Sorriso (700,000 t/yr) units. A gradual mothballing of the 1 million t/yr Uberaba plant is planned to begin in September. Previously announced shutdowns at the Tapira and Catalao phosphate rock production units are set to be extended. The Fospar unit in Paranagua will continue operating until the end of September when its sulfuric acid inventories are projected to deplete, while the Cajati unit will remain operational with sulfur imports to maintain animal nutrition product output.
In the United States, Mosaic will further reduce output at its Bartow, Florida, and Faustina, Louisiana, facilities. Production will also be reduced at plants in Riverview, Florida, and Uncle Sam, Louisiana.
Mosaic stated that these curtailments are a temporary response to extraordinary market conditions and do not represent a shift in its long-term strategy. The company expects to resume full operational capacity once the global supply of sulfur normalizes and international maritime transport routes return to normal.