Thiourea (CH₄N₂S, CAS 62-56-6), as a functional chemical raw material, has played a key role in agriculture, medicine, mining, textile, electronics and other industries over the past few decades. It is not merely a chemical substance, but also a symbol of trust in the supply chain. The reorganization of the global industrial chain has led the thiourea market to shift from being solely cost-driven to a competitive logic centered on sustainability, stability and innovation. The global thiourea landscape in 2025 is in a transitional period from "scale expansion" to "high-quality manufacturing". Riel Chemical has conducted a systematic analysis of the global thiourea production landscape by integrating market research and industry data, with the aim of providing buyers with a more valuable industry perspective for reference. As a buyer seeking thiourea, it is not easy to quickly identify a suitable partner among the numerous manufacturers and suppliers. To assist everyone in the initial screening and due diligence, this article, referring to public directories and industry intelligence, has compiled a reference list of the Top 10 global thiourea manufacturers (including some suppliers/distributors) for 2025 based on verifiable product pages/directory inclusion, industry reputation and supply coverage, as well as available quality and compliance information.
Contents:
Global Map: The Balance of Power among the Three Major Production Camps
- Country of Production
- Consumer Countries
The top 10 Global Thiourea manufacturers in 2025
Market Research Report on Thiourea in 2025
- Current situation of market
- Future trends
Thiourea Production Technology in China
- Production Process
- Key Technologies
- Purity and Quality Control of the Final Product
The evolution from manufacturing to ecology
Strategic Insights: Future Criteria for Selecting Partners
RFQ
The global thiourea manufacturing industry shows a distinct regional concentration. At present, China, India and Europe form the world's three major production and export cores. Each region has its own characteristics in terms of industrial chain positioning, cost structure and technological path, forming a complementary yet competitive pattern.
China is the world's largest producer of thiourea, accounting for over 60% of the global production capacity. According to the QYResearch report, the global thiourea market is valued at 120 million US dollars in 2024 and is expected to reach a revised scale of 221 million US dollars by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.1% during the forecast period. Among them, China's thiourea output in 2024 is 64,048 tons, accounting for 85% of the global output (2024). Manufacturers in Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places have made remarkable progress in standardized production and export compliance. In recent years, an increasing number of enterprises have obtained ISO9001 and ISO14001 certifications and adopted the HG/T 3266-2019 industry standard for quality control. The chemical industry clusters represented by Shandong are taking "high purity, stable supply and green process" as their core competitiveness.
Indian thiourea manufacturers mainly focus on pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals, concentrating on products with high purity and low metal content. In Mumbai and Gujarat, enterprises usually collaborate with universities to promote green synthesis and recycling processes. Its research and development-driven growth model has made India an important exporter of pharmaceutical intermediate-grade thiourea. However, due to the lack of research and statistics in the Indian market, it is impossible to determine its exact output. Most of them are traders who import from China and resell.
According to FiteChem, Europe has the lowest production of thiourea globally, with an output of around 10,000 tons, accounting for approximately 13% (2024). European manufacturers emphasize safety and sustainability, strictly comply with the REACH regulation, and position their products in the fields of electronics, semiconductors, and high-end materials. For instance, the Belgian Solvay Group has incorporated thiourea into its green materials innovation system through long-term investment in research and development and life cycle management.
The global production and consumption of thiourea are highly concentrated in China. In 2024, China's output of thiourea was approximately 64,048 tons, accounting for 85.79% of the global output. Judging from this proportion, China is not only the largest producer but also very likely the largest consumer. In the global thiourea market, the Asia-Pacific region is the largest consumer market, expected to account for over 65% of the global market share, followed by Europe and North America. In the agricultural/fertilizer/agrochemical industry, such as in countries like India and Brazil, there may be an import or local consumption demand for thiourea due to the demand for agrochemicals. In countries with developed pharmaceutical/intermediate industries, such as the United States, Germany, Japan, India, etc., thiourea may be needed as a synthetic intermediate. In regions with a high concentration of textile, dyeing and finishing, and papermaking industries, such as Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Asia, there are potential consumers of thiourea for applications in dyeing and finishing, bleaching auxiliaries, etc.
Based on publicly available industry data, production capacity, export performance and product certification, the following ten companies are representative in the thiourea industry (in no particular order) :
Industrial-grade thiourea has a low concentration, a high impurity content, and relatively simple process requirements. As a thiourea market mainly applied in chemical synthesis, it is sufficient to meet the current demand. However, with the development of technology and changes in demand, more and more industries require thiourea products to have few impurities and high purity. Meanwhile, these enterprises are relatively less sensitive to prices, so the market space for high-purity thiourea is gradually expanding. Meanwhile, enterprises in the industry also have the subjective desire to develop high-purity thiourea, which is relatively expensive and has a higher gross profit margin.
The global production and consumption of thiourea are highly concentrated in China. Industry statistics show that China's thiourea output will be approximately 64,048 tons in 2024, accounting for about 85.79% of the global total. There are many enterprises in China with an annual production capacity of 5,000 to 20,000 tons, which are in the leading echelon. In 2024, due to the upward trend in sulfur prices and stricter environmental protection regulations, the FOB price in China rose by approximately 8% year-on-year. By the first quarter of 2025, the mainstream FOB quotations were approximately in the range of $1,400 to $1,650 per ton. Price elasticity is mainly influenced by the upstream sulfur/sulfur chemical costs, the start-up and shutdown of facilities, and the pace of environmental protection reviews. Market research generally holds that the Asia-Pacific region is the largest consumption area, followed by Europe and North America. This is in line with the concentration of demand in the textile/electronics/fine chemicals sectors in China, India and Japan.
There are differences in the market size estimates for 2035: Some channels point to around 230 million US dollars, which is a conservative estimate based on the merger of industrial and high-purity sectors. Driven by the continuous growth in demand from the pharmaceutical, pesticide and electronics industries, the global thiourea market is experiencing strong growth. China, with its advanced manufacturing capabilities and strong downstream demand, holds a dominant position in both production and consumption. Industrial thiourea remains the main product type, driven by strong demand from chemical synthesis and established manufacturing processes. High-purity thiourea - As industries seek products with less impurities for advanced applications, the demand for high-purity thiourea is on the rise to support higher profit margins and market expansion. The electronic and pharmaceutical industries have a narrower window for metal impurities, particle size/crystal form and residual solvents, which brings opportunities for small-batch and multi-batch high-margin orders. The industrial chain is shifting from "ton products" to "specification services". The cyclical fluctuations in upstream sulfur and energy prices will continue to be transmitted to the quotations of thiourea. Enterprises with the capabilities of by-product coupling, energy efficiency optimization and multi-port shipping have better profit elasticity. The supply pattern centered on China is unlikely to change in the short term, but India and Europe will still maintain their technological and compliance advantages in the pharmaceutical and electronic sectors
Thiourea (chemical formula CH₄N₂S) is an important sulfur-containing organic compound. It appears as white or colorless crystalline granules, with reducing and complexing properties, and is widely used in fields such as metallurgical gold extraction, electroplating, pharmaceutical intermediates, textile auxiliaries, and pesticide synthesis.
With the tightening of environmental protection regulations in China and the segmentation of market demands, the production technology of thiourea is also upgrading from the traditional route to high-purity, green, continuous and intelligent directions.
There are mainly three synthetic routes for thiourea in industry, among which the ammonium thiocyanate method is the most mainstream.
Reaction principle: Ammonium thiocyanate undergoes molecular rearrangement under heating conditions to form thiourea.
Process flow: The raw material ammonium thiocyanate is dissolved in water. Heat to 135-150°C for rearrangement reaction; The products are cooled and crystallized. After filtration, washing and drying, industrial-grade thiourea is obtained.
- Advantages: Mature technology, readily available raw materials, and high yield (≥95%);
- Disadvantage: A small amount of cyanide is generated as a by-product of the reaction, and the tail gas absorption system needs to be improved.
- Raw materials: cyanide (NH₂CN) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S).
- Reaction mechanism: It reacts under high temperature and high pressure conditions in the presence of a catalyst.
- Advantages: The product has high purity and few impurities.
- Disadvantages: High equipment investment, strict requirements for safety and exhaust gas treatment.
This route is mostly used for the preparation of high-purity electronic grade or pharmaceutical grade thiourea.
Calcium cyanamide reacts with sodium sulfide or hydrogen sulfide to form thiourea, which is often used as an auxiliary route in medium and small-scale facilities.
The advantages are that the raw materials are easy to control, while the disadvantages are low yield and complex residue treatment, making it unsuitable for large-scale continuous production.
- Process steps: raw material dissolution, rearrangement reaction, crystallization and cooling, filtration and drying, and tail gas absorption
- Main equipment: stainless steel dissolution tank, reaction vessel (with stirring), condenser + crystallization tank, centrifuge + hot air dryer and tower absorption device
- Key control points: Temperature and concentration control, uniform heating, prevention of side reactions, control of cooling rate, prevention of oxidation and moisture absorption, and absorption of cyanide and sulfide
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Dissolution temperature | 40-60°C |
| Reaction temperature | 135-150°C |
| Pressure | Normal pressure or low pressure |
| Crystallization cooling | 10-20°C/h |
| Finished product moisture content | ≤0.3% |
| Finished product pH | >9 |
High-quality thiourea usually requires:
| Property | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Appearance | White or colorless crystalline granules |
| Purity | ≥99% |
| Heavy metal (Pb) | ≤0.002% |
| Water-insoluble matter | ≤0.02% |
| Melting point | 176-178°C |
The detection methods include:
- High Performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) : Determine purity;
- ICP-MS: Detection of trace metals;
- FTIR and XRD: Confirm crystal structure and impurity phases.
Three notable trends emerged in the thiourea market in 2025:
- Green manufacturing, recycling and health: Manufacturers are reducing environmental emissions through waste gas absorption systems and solvent recovery technologies. Chinese media once reported that thiourea residues were detected in samples of a certain brand of "Cotton Code" sanitary napkins. The thiourea content in some samples was "extremely high" - it is reported that the thiourea content in a batch of products was as high as 16,653.4679 μg/g, which poses a serious threat to human health (Gua.cn, 2025).
- Digital supply chain: Enterprises utilize ERP and blockchain systems to enhance transparency and ensure batch traceability.
- Regional cooperation and standard unification: Technological cooperation between Asian and European enterprises is accelerating, and unifying specifications has become an important issue in cross-border procurement.
The future supply chain of thiourea will not only rely on price and capacity, but also depend on the following three core indicators:
- Sustainability: Whether the manufacturer has an energy recovery and pollution control system.
- Transparency: Can batch tracking and third-party test reports be provided?
- Technological innovation: Whether it has the ability for independent research and development and customized production.
When evaluating suppliers, international buyers should pay more attention to the long-term cooperation potential rather than short-term price fluctuations. At Riel, we provide reliable chemical products to global partners through stable export channels, strict quality control and transparent customer service.