Welcome to the SUR+ International knowledge hub, where we explore the forces shaping the global chemical industry and the growing role of surplus redistribution.
From shifting tariff landscapes and plant closures to safe storage, sustainability, and supply chain resilience, our articles unpack the trends, risks, and opportunities that matter most to manufacturers, procurement leaders, and sustainability teams.
Whether you’re holding excess inventory you didn’t know was a recoverable asset, or sourcing reliable off-spec materials as a hedge against volatility, these articles offer practical perspective grounded in real market data. Dive in to discover how turning surplus chemicals into value can strengthen your bottom line, reduce your energy footprint, and build a more resilient operation.
By Shai Tsarfati, CEO of Surplus International
This is the closing article in a four-part series. We began with the 1 November 2026 CLP transition and the idea that chemical inventory carries a regulatory expiry date alongside its physical one. We then argued that the next wave of surplus material will come from ownership change rather than plant closures. Most recently we looked at tariff volatility and why material already inside a destination border carries a certainty that an overseas quotation cannot.
Each of those was a tactical observation. This one is different, because in June 2026 the European Commission did something that reframes the entire subject.
It built a public institution whose mandate is, in substance, a description of the secondary materials market.
By Shai Tsarfati, CEO of Surplus International
In our previous article we argued that the next wave of surplus material will come from ownership change rather than plant closures, and that the portfolio pruning following large divestitures and mergers will release inventory quietly over the coming two years. That was a question of supply. This article is about the other side of the same transaction: what has happened to the arithmetic of buying, and why the location of material has become a financial variable rather than a logistical one.
By Shai Tsarfati, CEO of Surplus International
In our previous article we looked at the 1 November 2026 CLP transition and why dormant European inventory has a regulatory expiry date as well as a physical one. That piece was about material already sitting in warehouses. This one is about where the next tranche of that material will come from, and the answer has changed.
By Shai Tsarfati, CEO of Surplus International
In our previous analysis of the great chemical restructuring, we looked at how plant closures and portfolio exits are releasing unprecedented volumes of high quality material into the surplus market. That discussion assumed something worth examining more closely: that a drum of on-spec material holds its value until someone buys it or its shelf life expires. For a significant share of European inventory, that assumption stops being true on 1 November 2026.
By Shai Tsarfati, CEO of Surplus International
In our previous analysis of the 2026 sulfur disruption, we considered how a supply shock can change the strategic value of dormant chemical inventory. A well-characterized secondary batch may provide another sourcing option when a primary route becomes constrained- but only if the industry can find, assess, document, and transport that material responsibly.
That is why the agenda for CPHI Milan 2026 is especially relevant. The event will take place at Fiera Milano from 6-8 October 2026 and includes new zones for AI & Tech, Cold Chain & Logistics, Contamination Control, and Labelling.1
By Shai Tsarfati, CEO of Surplus International
The global chemical industry is accustomed to price cycles, but the supply disruptions of 2026 have exposed a more fundamental vulnerability: many value chains still depend on a small number of production regions and transport corridors for essential feedstocks.
Sulfur is a clear example. The Middle East accounts for approximately one-quarter of global sulfur supply, while about half of global seaborne sulfur trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz.1 The region’s importance extends far beyond sulfur itself. Sulfur is a key feedstock for sulfuric acid, which is essential to phosphate-fertilizer production and the processing of copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel, rare earths, and other critical minerals.1
The global chemical industry is currently managing one of the most complex regulatory transitions in its history: the phase-out and restriction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals.”
By mid-2026, the regulatory pressure has reached a critical inflection point. In June 2026, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) published the results of its draft consultation regarding the comprehensive PFAS restriction proposal, revealing deep industry concern-particularly from the electronics and semiconductor sectors, which accounted for the largest share of the 3,511 submitted comments [1]. Concurrently, the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is set to enforce strict PFAS limits on food-contact packaging starting August 12, 2026 [2].
The manufacturing landscape in 2026 is undergoing a profound geographic shift. Driven by geopolitical tensions, shifting trade policies, and the painful lessons of recent global disruptions, companies are bringing production closer to home. Recent data indicates that 244,000 reshoring jobs have been created, and 56% of large companies across Europe and the USA have invested in reshoring or nearshoring production in the past year [1].
For most of its history, the case for buying surplus and off-spec chemicals has been a financial one. Surplus material is cheaper than virgin product, it eliminates disposal costs, and it frees up warehouse space. These are real and durable advantages. But in 2026, a new and arguably more powerful argument has emerged, one that has little to do with the price tag and everything to do with regulation.
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