The Middle East conflict has affected fertilizer markets pushing prices up due to tight availability and leading to demand destruction in some regions.

In this podcast, urea editor Deepika Thapliyal, sulphur editor Manuja Pandey, phosphates editor Chris Vlachopoulos, sulphuric acid editor Andy Hemphill and ammonia editor Sylvia Traganida discuss the latest market developments.

· Urea prices jump on tight availability, drop in demand on low affordability

· Sulphur supply tightness leads to two-tier market for industrial users and fertilizer producers

· China export ban of sulphuric acid pushes prices to record highs

· Concerns arise in Europe on farmer affordability leading to phosphates demand destruction

· Lack of ammonia availability from the Middle East pushes Asian prices up and makes buyers look eastward for product

Investment in innovation remains critical to the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of the chemical industry, despite the current geopolitical chaos and challenging macroeconomic environment.

• Innovation is essential for differentiation, long‑term growth and sustainability, not just short‑term commercial success
• Chemical companies must continue investing in R&D during uncertain periods rather than adopting a “stop‑and‑go” approach
• Sustainability‑driven innovation is increasingly central to business resilience, customer trust and regulatory compliance
• Open innovation and partnerships with customers, suppliers, academics and startups are becoming more important than internal R&D alone
• Digitalisation and AI can help structure vast amounts of unstructured data and support faster, more informed decision‑making
• Product‑level carbon transparency and credible sustainability data are emerging as competitive necessities
• New materials enabling recyclability – such as debondable adhesives – illustrate how innovation can link performance and circularity
• Shifts away from fossil feedstocks towards recycling, renewable raw materials and CO2 utilisation will accelerate over the next decade
• Regionalisation of supply chains and circular economy solutions are likely to gain momentum amid geopolitical fragmentation
• Entering innovation awards helps companies benchmark progress, gain credibility and increase the visibility of their innovations

Enter the ICIS Innovation Awards! Deadline 12 June.

In this Think Tank podcast, Will Beacham interviews ICIS Innovation awards judges Alessia Ielo, global sustainable solutions manager for Brenntag; Denis Bortzmeyer, scientific director for open innovation at Arkema and Eric de Deckere, executive director innovation at Cefic (European Chemical Industry Council).

Asian propylene (C3) supply has been shrinking with the ongoing shipping disruption through the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israel-Iran conflict. Supply tightness is expected to persist and support the market as feedstock availability and cost pressure remain key problems, weighing down regional plants’ operating rates.

Downstream demand and end-use consumption, however, are facing greater uncertainties as the geopolitical tensions weaken the global economic outlook, which could cloud the upside potential of propylene.

In this podcast, ICIS editors Seymour Chenxia and Joy Foo, together with ICIS senior analyst Joey Zhou, Doris He and Lillian Ren revisit Asian propylene price trends since the Middle East conflicts, discuss price forecast, supply/demand conditions and outlook and trade flow changes.