The Market
Legacy producers are still under pressure from cheaper-priced imports out of Laos, although some buyers ruled Laos-origin material as lower quality, and would not consider purchasing, even for blending purposes.
area overlies a rich potash resource, and provides a clear case for many small-scale potash facilities – each an independent economic entity on its own, and referred to as a ‘module’.
The average retail price of potash this week was $379/short ton ex-dealer.
EUROPE European granular potash pricing has ticked up, after producers secured €15-20/tonne increases over Q4 offers.
K+S, which suffered numerous outages at three plants on the River Werra, owing to low water levels, suffered a €10m hit to its Q4 earnings as a result of the stoppages.
POTASH price comparison Also weighing on the market is the pending decision as to which crops will be planted this year.
Potash supply tightened in Q4 2018; notably on outages at Germany’s K+S, alongside reduced availability from Russia’s Uralkali and Belarus Potash Company.
The southeast Asia standard and granular ranges are stable.
