Found this article on the Bloomberg site 24 Feb. It has an interesting parallel with my last post:
Sinofert Holdings Ltd. (297), a unit of China’s largest chemicals trader, is seeking to buy potash and phosphate mines to meet fertilizer demand for improving crop yields in the world’s most populous nation.
“We are looking at assets both inside and outside China,” Senior Vice President Harry Yang said in an interview in Beijing. “So far we haven’t found anything economically workable. We’ll continue to keep our eyes open.”
World potash demand will rise 3 percent this year, leaving a shortage, because of delays in commissioning new capacity, according to the International Fertilizer Industry Association. Sinofert, 22 percent owned by Saskatoon, Canada-based Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., aims to boost potash output as China’s growing population and prosperity spurs demand for food.
China’s farmers haven’t used enough potash over the years to reach government-recommended nitrogen-phosphate-potash levels, Senior Vice President Feng Mingwei said in the same interview on Feb. 21. Potash, mined from deposits of salts laid down in ancient seas and captured in rock layers, helps plants to grow strong roots, resist disease and withstand droughts.
“The increase in potash usage will outpace nitrogen in China,” Feng said.
Potash prices may gain 4.5 percent to $575 a metric ton in the U.S. this year, compared with $380 in July 2010, and settle at $520 in China and India, according to Credit Agricole Securities USA Inc. IMF Canada potash export price, an industry benchmark, climbed 29 percent to $475 last year.
