Potassium Iodate Price Trend and Forecast 2026-2027

Potassium iodate had a quiet Q1 but a much livelier Q2 2026. Chile, which supplies most of the world's natural iodine feedstock, saw its price climb 9.4% to USD 52.80/kg from USD 48.25/kg, as a stretch of heavy rain slowed brine-field pumping right when salt-iodization buyers were placing their usual mid-year orders. Japan moved almost in lockstep, up 9.1% to USD 58.40/kg, while the United States and India followed with smaller gains of 7.8% and 8.0%. Averaged across the four markets, the global price rose from USD 51.66/kg to USD 56.08/kg, an 8.6% jump that snapped what had been a fairly flat first quarter. Potassium iodate is made by oxidizing iodine, most of which is drawn from Chilean caliche-ore brines or Japanese natural gas brine fields, the two dominant sources worldwide. It's the iodine compound of choice for salt iodization programs because it holds up better than iodide under humid storage conditions, and it also shows up in radiation-emergency potassium iodide substitutes, animal feed premixes, and as a dough conditioner in some baking applications. Because supply traces back to just two geographic sources, weather and production hiccups at either end tend to ripple through pricing everywhere else fairly quickly. Downstream demand is also fairly inelastic in the short run: public-health iodization mandates and government stockpile programs rarely pause their purchasing schedules just because feedstock costs have moved, which is part of why price swings on the supply side tend to pass through to buyers rather than being absorbed by softer orders.

Potassium Iodate Price Forecast for 2026

The rain-driven Chilean slowdown should work itself out well before Q4, and once brine pumping gets back to a normal pace, the tightest part of this squeeze ought to ease. That said, national salt-iodization programs don't really pause their purchasing to wait out a supply hiccup, so demand isn't going anywhere in the meantime. The likelier path through H2 is a partial give-back from Q2's peak, landing somewhere still above where the year started. Producers with diversified brine sources should be first to normalize, while buyers concentrated on Chilean-origin material may see the easing arrive a quarter or so later than the broader market average suggests.

A slower-than-expected recovery in Chilean brine output, stacked on continued steady iodization-program buying, could push prices toward the top of the ranges below. A quick return to normal pumping rates paired with softer premix demand would instead pull the global average back toward the lower end. Freight availability on Pacific import routes is a secondary swing factor worth watching too, since any tightening there would add further upward pressure independent of what happens at the brine fields themselves.

For the Quarter Ending June 2026

Potassium Iodate Prices Q2 2026:

• Chile: USD 52.80/kg
• Japan: USD 58.40/kg
• United States: USD 62.50/kg
• India: USD 50.60/kg

Potassium Iodate Prices in Chile

Chile closed Q2 2026 at USD 52.80/kg, up 9.4% from USD 48.25/kg in Q1. An unusually wet stretch across the northern brine fields slowed pumping just as buyers were placing their mid-year orders, and a few smaller iodate producers reported running below their usual output for several weeks.

Why did the price of Potassium Iodate change in Q2 2026 in Chile?

It came down to timing more than anything structural: the rain hit right when demand typically firms up ahead of mid-year restocking. Producers with their own storage ponds weathered it better than those relying on continuous pumping, which is part of why the price move wasn't uniform across every Chilean supplier. A few producers even managed to hold volumes steady by drawing down reserve ponds built up earlier in the year.

Potassium Iodate Prices in Japan

Japan's price rose 9.1% in Q2 2026, from USD 53.55/kg to USD 58.40/kg. Domestic brine-field output stayed roughly on schedule, but buyers there import a fair amount of Chilean-sourced material too, so the same weather disruption still fed through to Japanese contract pricing.

Why did the price of Potassium Iodate change in Q2 2026 in Japan?

Japan isn't fully self-sufficient in iodine feedstock, so a supply hiccup thousands of miles away in Chile still shows up on local invoices. Buyers who diversify across both brine sources absorbed less of the increase than those leaning more heavily on Chilean-origin material, a gap that's likely to persist until Chilean output fully normalizes.

Potassium Iodate Prices in the United States

Up 7.8% in Q2 2026, from USD 58.00/kg to USD 62.50/kg. US buyers, almost entirely reliant on imports for this compound, competed for the same tightening pool of Chilean and Japanese supply, and a modest uptick in Pacific freight rates added a bit more to landed costs.

Why did the price of Potassium Iodate change in Q2 2026 in the United States?

With no domestic iodate production to fall back on, American buyers are first to feel any pinch upstream. Radiation-preparedness stockpile buyers and feed-premix manufacturers were both active this quarter, which meant less room to negotiate than usual, and some smaller buyers reported longer lead times on new orders as a result.

Potassium Iodate Prices in India

India's price climbed 8.0% in Q2 2026, from USD 46.85/kg to USD 50.60/kg, the smallest gain of the four markets tracked. The country's large salt-iodization program keeps demand steady and fairly predictable, which cushioned the impact of the broader feedstock squeeze.

Why did the price of Potassium Iodate change in Q2 2026 in India?

Government-run iodization purchasing tends to be contracted well in advance, so India's price moved with the broader market but by less. Local blenders who buy on the spot market for smaller orders did see a sharper jump than the program-linked average suggests, underscoring how much of India's apparent price stability comes from its contracting structure rather than the underlying feedstock market.

For the Quarter Ending March 2026

Potassium Iodate Prices Q1 2026:

• Chile: USD 48.25/kg
• Japan: USD 53.55/kg
• United States: USD 58.00/kg
• India: USD 46.85/kg

Potassium Iodate Prices in Chile

Chile's Q1 2026 price came in at USD 48.25/kg, up a modest 2.3% from USD 47.15/kg in Q4 2025. Brine-field pumping ran close to normal through the quarter, and the small gain mostly reflected routine seasonal restocking ahead of the busier mid-year period.

Why did the price of Potassium Iodate change in Q1 2026 in Chile?

Nothing unusual drove Q1 - buyers topped up inventory a bit early, as they typically do before the higher-demand months, and producers had no trouble keeping pace with that ordinary seasonal pattern, with brine-field utilization running close to typical first-quarter levels throughout.

Potassium Iodate Prices in Japan

Japan rose 2.6% in Q1 2026, from USD 52.20/kg to USD 53.55/kg, tracking the same mild seasonal pattern seen in Chile. Local brine output was steady, and import costs held fairly flat.

Why did the price of Potassium Iodate change in Q1 2026 in Japan?

Japanese buyers weren't yet feeling any feedstock pressure at this point, since the Chilean weather disruption hadn't started. The small increase reflected ordinary quarter-to-quarter demand, nothing more, and inventory levels across Japanese distributors stayed comfortably within their normal range.

Potassium Iodate Prices in the United States

US prices edged up 2.7% in Q1 2026, from USD 56.50/kg to USD 58.00/kg. Radiation-preparedness stockpile orders stayed at their usual pace, and freight costs on Pacific import routes were unremarkable.

Why did the price of Potassium Iodate change in Q1 2026 in the United States?

Steady institutional demand kept US pricing on its normal quarterly drift upward, without any of the supply-side complications that would later show up in Q2, when the Chilean weather disruption began working its way through the broader supply chain.

Potassium Iodate Prices in India

India rose 2.4% in Q1 2026 to USD 46.85/kg from USD 45.75/kg in Q4 2025, the smallest of the four regional gains. Salt-iodization program purchasing followed its usual contracted schedule through the quarter.

Why did the price of Potassium Iodate change in Q1 2026 in India?

India's program-driven buying pattern kept this market the calmest of the four tracked, a role it would keep even after the Q2 disruption hit the other three markets harder, since most of India's volume is locked in well ahead of any given quarter.

Quarterly Potassium Iodate Price Trends

Six quarters of data give a decent read on this market: mostly gentle, single-digit moves through most of 2025, then a sharper jump once Chile's rains hit brine output in Q2 2026. The table below tracks the global average alongside the pace of change each quarter.

What was Potassium Iodate Price in 2025?

Looking at the full year, potassium iodate's global average rose from USD 48.20/kg in Q2 2025 to USD 56.08/kg in Q2 2026, a 16.4% climb over the twelve-month span. Most of that gain built up gradually through 2025 on steady salt-iodization and radiation-preparedness demand; the Q2 2026 weather disruption in Chile added the sharpest single jump in the whole series, a reminder of how concentrated the underlying supply chain still is despite fairly diversified end demand.

Potassium Iodate Prices in Chile in 2025

From USD 44.50/kg in Q1 2025 to USD 47.15/kg by Q4, a 6.0% rise across the year. Demand stayed steady and predictable through most of the period, with brine-field output keeping pace comfortably until the wet weather arrived in the following quarter and briefly interrupted an otherwise unremarkable run.

Potassium Iodate Prices in Japan in 2025

Japan moved from about USD 49.10/kg to USD 52.20/kg over 2025, up 6.3%. Local brine output ran smoothly all year, and the gain mostly reflected ordinary import-cost drift rather than any specific disruption, consistent with Japan's generally steady demand profile.

Potassium Iodate Prices in the United States in 2025

The largest annual gain of the four - USD 53.20/kg to USD 56.50/kg, up 6.2% - carried by consistent radiation-preparedness stockpile purchasing and gradually rising Pacific freight costs on long-haul imports, both of which built steadily rather than moving in sudden jumps.

Potassium Iodate Prices in India in 2025

India rose from USD 43.10/kg to USD 45.75/kg across 2025, up 6.1%, the calmest of the four markets given the program-linked, contract-driven nature of most local demand, which limits how quickly spot-market swings can feed through to the broader average.

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Expert Market Research: Your Source for Real-Time Potassium Iodate Price Intelligence

Expert Market Research tracks potassium iodate pricing across every major sourcing region, giving procurement teams a clear read on where feedstock disruptions are likely to show up next. Our coverage follows the Chilean and Japanese brine supply chains closely, since the bulk of global iodate pricing ultimately traces back to conditions at those two sources. Whether you're managing a salt-iodization supply contract, a radiation-preparedness stockpile, or a feed-premix formulation, our analysts can help you time purchases, benchmark supplier quotes, and build in the flexibility a two-source commodity market like this one calls for. Reach out to discuss custom research or a deeper look at any of the regions covered here, including tailored forecasts scoped to your specific sourcing footprint and contract renewal timeline.