Canada, U.S. Potash Shares Plunge Following Russian Announcement

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

North American potash producers saw their shares plunged Tuesday, following news that a rival Russian potash producer is pulling out of a marketing group, which traders suspect is a move to drive down prices in order to sell more potash to China.

Russian based company- OAO Uralkali said that its joint venture with a company from Belarus has come to an end. "Our co-operation with our Belarusian partners … has come to a deadlock," Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner said in a company statement. "In this situation we have to redirect our export deliveries through our own trader.”

Canada’s PotashCorp. shares were down about 23 percent in New York trading. Comparatively, U.S. based Mosaic shares fell 23 per cent to $40.59, while Agrium shares dropped 8.7 per cent to $83.49. Russia’s Urlkali produces about 20 per cent of the world’s potash.