Bromine: Trading
Why toxic liquid bromine rarely trades on the spot market
What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.Bromine is sold through long-term contracts by vertically integrated chemical firms, which convert most of it into compounds before sale. Elemental bromine is toxic and corrosive, so it moves in specialised lined containers, which limits spot trading. Price discovery relies on contract disclosures, trade statistics and assessments by price reporters. Concentration has a long history. Tilton and Guzmán record a local US bromine cartel from 1885 to 1914.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Chinese flame-retardant and chemical makers (61.1% of elemental bromine import value in 2024)
- Oilfield service companies buying bromide brines in Guyana, Saudi Arabia, the US Gulf and North Sea
- Pharma and agrochemical makers in India, Europe and China
Where it is sold (sellers)
- Israel (ICL) and Jordan (JBC) from the Dead Sea
- US Arkansas producers (Albemarle, Lanxess)
- China (Shandong), Japan and India (Gujarat)
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| No exchange market | No futures; nothing on MCX or NCDEX | Prices from contracts and Chinese domestic quotes |
Contract types
- Long-term supply contracts for bromine and compounds from integrated producers
- Spot sales in China quoted in RMB per tonne
- Rental and buy-back arrangements for clear brine fluids, which are reconditioned and reused
Top trading houses
- Producers' own sales arms (ICL, Albemarle, Lanxess)
- Chemical distributors in Asia
How prices are discovered
- Chinese market quotes (SunSirs and others)
- US import and export unit values (USGS)
- Producer segment results