Not Just Oil: Sulphur Prices Surge by Rp22.4 Million/Ton Due to War!
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The surge in global sulphur prices is beginning to pose a serious threat to Indonesia’s nickel downstreaming industry. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which disrupts supply chains from the Middle East, has caused the price of this key raw material to skyrocket sharply.
Chairman of the Indonesian Nickel Industry Forum (FINI), Arif Perdana Kusumah, revealed that sulphur prices have now breached the range of US$960 to US$1,300 per ton, equivalent to approximately Rp16.5 million to Rp22.4 million per ton (assuming an exchange rate of Rp17,286 per US dollar). This figure has risen dramatically compared to April last year, when it was still around US$275 per ton.
“The price of sulphur raw material, currently the largest cost component in the HPAL process, has reached more than US$960 to US$1,300 per ton, a very significant increase compared to around US$275 per ton in April last year,” Arif told CNBC Indonesia on Thursday (23/4/2026).
Arif stated that sulphur is a crucial component in the nickel downstreaming industry, particularly for producing sulphuric acid used in the leaching process at High Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL)-based processing facilities.
“Production of battery-grade nickel MHP (Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate) using HPAL technology is highly dependent on sulphuric acid,” he said.
In terms of requirements, the industry needs around 10-12 tons of sulphur to produce 1 ton of nickel in the form of MHP. This makes sulphur one of the largest cost components in the HPAL production process.
“As the world’s largest producer of nickel-cobalt material (MHP) from HPAL projects, Indonesia is heavily reliant on sulphur imports from the Middle East,” he said.
According to Arif, Indonesia still heavily depends on sulphur imports, especially from the Middle East region. Of the total approximately 5.3 million tons of sulphur imports in 2025, around 75-80% comes from that area.
This becomes a major risk when the main distribution route like the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted. The closure of that route could potentially hinder or even cut off sulphur supplies to the domestic market, ultimately disrupting HPAL refinery operations.
“This highly concentrated supply, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, will disrupt or even cut off the main raw material source for HPAL refineries in Indonesia. This situation will also cause a global sulphur material shortage and significantly increase prices,” Arif said.