Friendly loam

27 January 2014 By Kevin Allison

New Kremlin-backed owners at Russia’s Uralkali, the world’s biggest potash producer, appear open to reviving a marketing alliance with Belarus. But it’s far from a done deal. Even if the cartel returns, it’s unlikely to survive long once BHP Billiton enters the business.

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Uralkali has signed a contract to supply China with 700,000 tonnes of potash in the first half of 2014 at a price of $305 per tonne, Reuters reported on Jan. 20. The price was about a quarter less than the $400 a tonne that China paid for the essential soil nutrient last year. The price cut came after Uralkali ended its participation in a price-setting marketing alliance with Belaruskali, a Belarusian potash producer, last July. Together, the two companies accounted for about 40 percent of global potash sales.

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