Reading Time: 2 minutes A substantial drop in provincial resource revenue from its oil sector has Saskatchewan holding the line on spending and leaning on its potash sector in its 2015 budget. Finance Minister Ken Krawetz and Ag Minister Lyle Stewart on Wednesday announced a total ag ministry budget of $362.4 million for 2015-16, down 2.5 per cent from […] Read more
Sask. budget trims ag spending slightly
Mosaic fast-tracking Esterhazy potash mine expansion
Reading Time: < 1 minute U.S. fertilizer firm Mosaic Co. has put expansion work at its southeastern Saskatchewan potash mining site on an “accelerated” timeline. Mosaic, which said in 2008 it would invest $1.7 billion to add 1.8 million tonnes of capacity at its Esterhazy, Sask. site by 2020, now plans to have its new “K3” satellite mine delivering potash […] Read more
Russia’s Uralkali to invest US$4.5B to stay potash No. 1
Reading Time: 2 minutes Moscow | Reuters –– Russia’s Uralkali will invest US$4.5 billion over the next five years to raise production capacity by 30 per cent, aiming to remain the world’s largest potash company despite a setback at a major mine. Uralkali’s capacity to produce potash, a crop nutrient, came into focus after it halted production at the […] Read more
PotashCorp’s profit beats on higher potash sales
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — PotashCorp, the world’s biggest fertilizer company by market capitalization, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on strong potash sales, but its 2015 outlook disappointed. Saskatoon-based PotashCorp sold 2.5 million tonnes of potash, the most ever in a fourth quarter and up 42 per cent year over year. Its average realized potash price was $284 per […] Read more
Fertilizer prices stray away from corn influence: Analyst
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Foreign exports and transportation look like they could be the main issues facing the fertilizer industry in 2015. Countries such as Ukraine, Russia and Belarus are busy players on the market, with Morocco also ramping up production. As a result, more supplies of phosphates and other fertilizers are out there, according to […] Read more
Fertilizer firm Mosaic forecasts bigger-than-expected Q4 profit
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. fertilizer company Mosaic Co. on Monday estimated it would post a larger fourth-quarter profit than expected and surpassed its targets for phosphate sales. Mosaic, the world’s largest producer of finished phosphate products and North America’s second-biggest potash producer, said it expects to earn 93 to 98 cents per share in the quarter […] Read more
Agrium restarts potash output at Sask. mine
Reading Time: < 1 minute Fertilizer and ag retail giant Agrium has restarted potash production at its west-central Saskatchewan mine after a months-long expansion-related shutdown. Calgary-based Agrium said Wednesday its site at Vanscoy, about 25 km southwest of Saskatoon, is back in business after completion of what it called a “major turnaround” to tie in a one million-tonne expansion project. […] Read more
Uralkali prepares to start repairs at damaged potash mine
Reading Time: 2 minutes Berezniki, Russia | Reuters — Russia’s Uralkali, the world’s biggest potash producer, is preparing to start repair work at part of the damaged Solikamsk-2 mine, though it is unclear when output of the fertilizer will restart. Production at the mine was halted last week after an inflow of water at the mine, which accounts for […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
