Top Potash-Producing Countries for 2016

Mining & Minerals - Evaluations / Lithium, Potash, Halite, & P2O5 Mining Projects

Date posted: 02/15/17

Jocelyn Aspa reports that potash prices have struggled over the last few years, and 2016 was another tough year for the fertilizer. Its prices slumped due to an oversupply and minimal demand from farmers and, as reported by the Economic Calendar, crop prices did not justify aggressive potash fertilizer applications. On that note, a number of potash mines also halted operations in 2016. According to CropLife, all of the facilities that were at the right end of the industry cost curve have closed. Those include the Mosaic Calrsbad and Hersey mines, Intrepid Carlsbad East, and PotashCorp Penobsquis and Picadilly facilities. As such, the publication estimates that roughly 3.1 million tons of MOP capacity was lost in 2016 as a result of the closures. In terms of consumption, according to the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that it is expected to increase from 49 million tons in 2016 to 43 million tons in 2019. The report suggests that Asia and South America will be the largest consumers, with annual production increasing from 56 million tons to 65 million tons by 2020. As such, it is interesting to look back and see who the top potash-producing countries were in 2016. She provides an overview of the 10 top potash-producing countries, as per data from the USGS. ... 1. Canada Mine production: 10,000 MT First on the top potash-producing countries list is Canada. While ranked number one, the country mine production dropped from 11,400 MT in 2015 to 10,000 in 2016. Canada hosts the largest potash company by capacity, the aforementioned PotashCorp, but the company suspended its Picadilly mine in New Brunswick in January 2016 as a result of low prices. On that note, however, Agrium and PotashCorp inked a deal in fall 2016 that would merge the two companies to create a global agricultural giant with $36 billion value. 2. Russia Mine production: 6,500 MT Potash production in Russia also dropped off from its figures from the year before...