Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — North American farmers will pressure regulators to protect their negotiating leverage with fertilizer suppliers if PotashCorp and Agrium agree to merge, major farm groups said on Wednesday. The potential deal revealed on Tuesday would combine the world’s largest fertilizer producer by capacity, with the continent’s biggest network of farm retail dealers, […] Read more
Tag Archives potash — page 12

PotashCorp, Agrium merger would send farmers to regulators

Agrium, PotashCorp in merger talks
Canadian fertilizer giants Agrium and PotashCorp confirmed Tuesday they’re in “preliminary discussions” toward a possible merger-of-equals. Calgary-based Agrium and Saskatoon-based PotashCorp emphasized in separate statements Tuesday that no decision has yet been made on whether to go ahead with such a merger and no agreement has yet been reached. “There can be no assurance that […] Read more

Agrium’s Vanscoy potash operations suspended
Reuters — Agrium’s operations at its Vanscoy potash mine in Saskatchewan could be halted for days, a union official said on Tuesday, the day after a worker was injured. An Agrium spokesman said in a statement that the company was working on a plan to restart the facility and did not expect any “material disruption.” […] Read more

Mosaic CEO sees opportunities to buy miners’ fertilizer assets
Reuters — Miners that produce a diverse commodity mix may be willing to part with fertilizer assets, creating buying opportunities for producers of potash and phosphate, Mosaic Co. CEO Joc O’Rourke said Tuesday. Profits of fertilizer producers have tumbled because of falling prices, weak currencies in importing countries such as Brazil and excessive supplies. Mosaic, […] Read more

Mosaic idles Saskatchewan potash mine
Reuters — Fertilizer producer Mosaic Co. has idled production at its Colonsay, Sask. potash mine for the rest of 2016, and temporarily laid off 330 workers, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Potash prices are hovering around the lowest levels seen in a decade, amid excessive output capacity and delays in setting annual supply […] Read more

Uralkali shareholder wants to restore potash alliance
Minsk | Reuters — The Belarussian businessman who last week acquired a 20 per cent stake in Russian potash producer Uralkali said on Monday it would be in everyone’s interest to restore an alliance between Uralkali and Belarus, the world’s two biggest potash miners. Uralkali and the Belarussian Potash Co. (BPC) used to co-operate with […] Read more

CP offers assurances for 2016-17 grain handle
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) says it’s ready and willing to move a bumper Prairie crop in 2016-17. “Operationally, CP is eager and prepared to move grain this coming crop year,” company CEO Hunter Harrison said in a letter to federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau. The letter, dated Tuesday, was also circulated to Prairie transportation and […] Read more

Canpotex shelves plans for Prince Rupert terminal
Reuters — Canpotex, the potash export sales arm for PotashCorp, Mosaic Co. and Agrium, said Friday it would not build a planned shipping terminal at Prince Rupert in British Columbia. Canpotex said the decision was based on economic and commercial considerations and that its export capacity in Vancouver, Saint John and Portland were sufficient. PotashCorp […] Read more

N.B. to assess unwanted potash deposit
A potash deposit from which one of the world’s biggest fertilizer companies recently walked away will be the subject of a provincial review for its future potential. The New Brunswick government announced May 11 it will soon finalize a contract to hire a third-party consultant to assess the remaining potash resource, if any, in the […] Read more

Fertilizer prices look to rise by late summer
CNS Canada — A rise in prices for soybeans and other crops could make fertilizer more expensive in the coming months, according to a major player in the industry. In the May market report from the Mosaic Co., the company credited the rally in agricultural commodity prices, the strengthening of key currencies and various Indian […] Read more