Sulfur Prices Need Help and China's Soybean Purchases
From the Western Ag Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**Florida lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to address sharply higher sulfur prices that could threaten domestic phosphate fertilizer production and increase costs.
Florida Rep. Scott Franklin and seven other Florida congressional members sent a letter the President and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seeking additional federal action.
According to Franklin's office, Tampa sulfur prices previously averaged about $172 per long ton but have exceeded $1,100 per metric ton since May.
**China purchased about 1 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans last week, providing a boost to American growers as harvest approaches and trade talks continue.
Four traders told Reuters that Chinese buyers booked 14 to 15 cargoes for shipment from U.S. Gulf terminals between December and February.
Reuters reports that brings China's U.S. soybean buying to nearly half of the 25 million metric tons Beijing committed to purchase annually through 2028.
**Wheat futures remain volatile as traders weigh continued disruptions to Black Sea grain exports against diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
The most-active contract traded around $7.39 a bushel after reaching a 3½-year high of $7.95 last week.
Wheat prices had climbed following reports of a Ukrainian strike on a Russian port, renewing concerns about disruptions to one of the world's most important grain-export regions.
