Over the past month, bromine prices have skyrocketed. According to relevant data, as of mid-April 2026, the prevailing price in China’s bromine market had already surpassed RMB 70,000 per ton, marking an increase of over 76% in just one month. Looking back over the past 12 years, bromine market prices saw a significant surge only in 2021, with the peak price remaining below RMB70,000 per ton. Based on current price trends, bromine market prices have surpassed previous highs, reaching a 12-year historical peak.

SunSirs Bromine Price Trend Chart (RMB/ton)

The chart shows an almost vertical upward trajectory.

The recent “sharp surge” in bromine prices is likely due to the following factors:

1. Supply Side: Dual Disruption of Global Core Production Capacity

Israel’s ICL is the world’s largest bromine producer, accounting for 33% or more of global production capacity. Since the outbreak of the Iran-Israel conflict, ICL has significantly reduced its operating rates, leading to a noticeable short-term decline in global bromine supply.

Additionally, Jordan’s JBL is the world’s second-largest bromine producer, with a production capacity of approximately 14% or more of the global total. Flooding in southern Jordan in January 2026 damaged JBL’s infrastructure, causing the company’s operating rates to drop to only 30–40% in March, resulting in a significant reduction in global bromine supply.

Furthermore, the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has prevented bromine resources from Jordan and Israel from passing through. Although some vessels have been rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, logistics costs have risen significantly, and bromine supply volumes will also decline due to these logistical constraints.

Approximately 80% of China’s bromine resources are concentrated in Laizhou, Shandong, derived from local underground brine. However, extraction of these resources has become increasingly difficult, and growing environmental pressures have led to a year-on-year decline in local bromine output. Between 2014 and 2025, local bromine production has already fallen by more than 53%, and with no new production capacity coming online, the Chinese market as a whole faces a downward trend in bromine supply. Furthermore, spring is traditionally the peak season for maintenance, which reduces market supply and drives up bromine prices.

2. Demand Side: Surge in Rigid Demand

Seventy percent of downstream bromine is used in flame retardants, including applications in new energy batteries, PCBs, electronics and electrical equipment, building materials, plastics, and rubber, as well as in pharmaceuticals, pesticides, dyes, and refrigerants. These sectors have experienced rapid growth in recent years, particularly the new energy battery sector, which has grown at a rate exceeding 15%, driving significant new demand.

Furthermore, as global standards for flame retardants become increasingly stringent, bromine-based flame retardants offer the best cost-performance ratio. Currently, demand for bromine in the flame retardant sector continues to maintain an annual growth rate of over 8%.

Against the backdrop of surging demand, the Chinese bromine market has risen, bringing greater profits to bromine production. According to PingTouGe’s rough estimates, the theoretical profit margin for bromine in China will exceed 50% by 2026, making it one of the high-profit chemical products.

3. Cost Side: Rising Sulfur Prices Are the “Core Reason”

In the cost structure of bromine production, sulfur accounts for approximately 11% of total costs, while sulfuric acid accounts for about 28%, together making up over 39% of total costs. Sulfur is the second-largest cost component in bromine production, second only to brine. The rise in sulfur and sulfuric acid prices has been analyzed previously in the article “Have Sulfur and Sulfuric Acid Prices Surpassed All-Time Highs Since Records Began?” Interested readers can click to view it.

The short-term surge in bromine prices is primarily driven by a rapid decline in supply and rising costs; however, given the magnitude of the increase in such a short period, downstream markets may exhibit strong resistance. The core drivers of this price surge are unlikely to change in the short term, so the bromine market may remain at elevated levels for the time being. In the medium to long term, if the conflict in the Middle East eases and supply from Israel and Jordan resumes, it is possible that prices could return to more rational levels. However, given the decline in domestic resources and the high reliance on imports—a situation unlikely to change in the short term—it is highly probable that the central price level for bromine will rise systematically.

Faced with soaring bromine prices, dwindling domestic resources, and high import dependency, domestic suppliers can upgrade their bromine extraction processes to improve brine utilization and production efficiency. Additionally, they should strictly control production costs and promote recycling. At the same time, they should actively diversify overseas supply sources to reduce reliance on the single production region in the Middle East. For downstream enterprises, more rational raw material stockpiling can help stabilize the supply chain.

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