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Potash/Phosphate

Nigeria buys emergency Canadian potash to replace lost Russian supply – by Julia Payne (Financial Post/Reuters – May 3, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

LAGOS — Nigeria had to buy emergency supplies of Canadian potash in April after the country was unable to import the key fertilizer from Russia due to the impact of Western sanctions, the head of Nigeria’s sovereign investment authority NSIA said.

Uche Orji, the head of NSIA, declined to comment on prices. However, spot prices today are up more than 250% for deliveries to west Africa compared to last year, according to commodities pricing agency Argus Media, dealing a further blow to the country’s finances.

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This Canadian mining company is sitting on billions worth of potash. Inside the battle that has angry shareholders alleging vote rigging and stock sabotage – by Steve Buist (Toronto Star – April 30, 2022)

https://www.thestar.com/

Karnalyte Resources Inc. CEO denies allegations, says the company strives to put shareholders best interest “at the forefront of everything.”

Down the hall they marched and into the conference room at the Hampton Inn near Saskatoon’s airport, four armed city police officers acting as a security detail for the board of directors of a small Saskatchewan mining company called Karnalyte Resources Inc.

It was June 7, 2018, and Karnalyte’s annual general meeting was about to start. A handful of frustrated investors hoped to dethrone the board they believed was mismanaging the company. Including the police and the company’s board members, there were maybe 30 people in the room, 40 tops.

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Can the World Feed Itself? Historic Fertilizer Crunch Threatens Food Security – by Elizabeth Elkin and Samuel Gebre (Bloomberg News – May 1, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — For the first time ever, farmers the world over — all at the same time — are testing the limits of how little chemical fertilizer they can apply without devastating their yields come harvest time. Early predictions are bleak.

In Brazil, the world’s biggest soybean producer, a 20% cut in potash use could bring a 14% drop in yields, according to industry consultancy MB Agro. In Costa Rica, a coffee cooperative representing 1,200 small producers sees output falling as much as 15% next year if the farmers miss even one-third of normal application.

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Nutrien paid more than US$32-million to former CEOs – by David Milstead and Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – April 5, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Agricultural giant Nutrien Inc. paid a combined US$32.7-million to former CEOs Chuck Magro and Mayo Schmidt since the beginning of 2021, illustrating the high cost of the company’s executive-suite revolving door.

The Saskatoon company said it paid Mr. Magro US$18.48-million in 2021, including US$8.09-million in severance and consulting payments after it fired him in April. The company said it paid his successor Mr. Schmidt, who had previously been serving as the company’s chairman, US$9.38-million in 2021, and another $4.83-million in severance in January when it fired him.

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World looks to Canada to fill potash, uranium void left by Ukraine – by Robert Tuttle, Jen Skerritt and Joe Deaux (Bloomberg News – March 24, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Buyers scrambling for supplies of potash and uranium are looking to Canada to fill gaps caused by the war in Ukraine.

The northern nation has been approached by those seeking potash and uranium, said Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. The country is one of the world’s main sources of the two commodities and buyers are anxious to secure supplies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted trade flows.

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P.E.I. farmers struggle to plan ahead as fertilizer costs double – by Tony Davis (CBC News Prince Edward Island – March 28, 2022)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/

Russia a major exporter of some fertilizer nutrients, sanctions causing shortage

Farmers on P.E.I. will be paying more to get their crops started this year as the cost of fertilizer skyrockets. Russia is a leading producer of some of the nutrients that go into mineral rich fertilizer needed to produce commercial-sized yields on the Island.

“We’ve seen the cost of potash go from around $570 in the fall last year … per tonne, upwards of $1,300 dollars per tonne now,” said Donald Killorn, executive director of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture.

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Inside the ultrasecretive exit of CEO Mayo Schmidt from Nutrien after eight months – by Niall McGee and Jeffrey Jones (Globe and Mail – March 19, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Nutrien Ltd. cut ties with chief executive officer Mayo Schmidt after a culture clash over his imperious leadership style, his sluggishness in getting things done and friction involving his chief of staff, according to three sources.

The exit of Mr. Schmidt in January after only eight months on the job shocked investors in the world’s biggest fertilizer company, which lost more than $2-billion in market value after the news dropped. Nutrien did not explain why Mr. Schmidt was stepping down, and analysts criticized the company for being opaque.

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Nutrien to boost potash production by 1 million tonnes amid worries about food security – by Kevin Carmichael (Financial Post – March 18, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Affordable fertilizer will be key to increasing the supply of food if fewer acres are to offset a harvest that excludes Russia and Ukraine

Nutrien Ltd., the world’s biggest maker of fertilizers, pledged to do its part in fighting global food inflation, stating overnight on March 16 that it will increase potash production by “almost” one million tonnes in the second half of 2022, pushing total production this year to about 15 million tonnes.

The announcement comes amid serious worry that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will cause a spike in hunger in places such as Egypt and Iran, and economic stagnation in richer countries like Canada.

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Why Nutrien ripped higher as Russia’s attack stirs fertilizer fears – by Michelle Zadikian (BNN Bloomberg – March 11, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Fertilizer stocks have been on a tear as crop prices have surged and investors fear the global potash inventory crunch could get worse in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

As the world’s biggest potash producer, Nutrien Ltd. could have a chance to capitalize on growth opportunities in the market, but analysts agree it could take time for that to materialize.

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How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is affecting investments in the agriculture sector – by Brenda Bouw (Globe and Mail – March 10, 2022)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, prices of many agricultural commodities were on the rise due to supply shortages and growing demand for food as economies recover from the coronavirus crisis.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine – major global producers of commodities such as corn, wheat, barley and potash – has sent prices soaring even higher amid anticipation of even greater supply shortages.

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Nutrien sees long-lasting disruption to fertilizer market from Russian invasion – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – March 2, 2022)

https://www.mining.com/

Canada’s Nutrien (TSX, NYSE: NTR), the world’s largest potash miner, sees supply shortages of fertilizer getting worse due to the ongoing and escalating Russian invasion of Ukraine, two of the world’s top fertilizer producers.

Interim chief executive Ken Seitz, who took the helm in January after the sudden resignation of Mayo Schmidt, told a BMO Capital conference that Russia’s invasion could result in prolonged disruptions to the global supply of potash and nitrogen crop nutrients.

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Russia-Ukraine Tensions Spur Fears of Fertilizer Shortages, Food Price Hikes – by Jen Skerritt and Elizabeth Elkin (Bloomberg News – February 23, 2022)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — More price hikes for fertilizer — and consequently, food — are on the horizon as escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine add to fears of global shortages.

Russia is a low-cost, high-volume global producer for all major fertilizers, and it’s the world’s second-largest producer after Canada of potash, a key nutrient used on major commodity crops and produce. The conflict in the region could disrupt trade flows. U.S.-based Mosaic Co., a major fertilizer producer, warned of shortages in a call with analysts Wednesday.

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Nutrien predicts banner year ahead as global uncertainty sends potash soaring – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – February 18, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Fourth-quarter revenue beats expectations amid record potash sales

Nutrien Ltd., the world’s largest potash producer, reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat analyst expectations, and predicted 2022 would be another banner year for its two main businesses, fertilizer and farm retail.

The Saskatoon-based agricultural behemoth said on Feb. 17 that it quickly ramped up production and sold a record 13.6 million tonnes of potash in 2021 as demand reached record levels and prices soared amid supply constraints and uncertainty around the effect of sanctions imposed on Belarus, a major producer.

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Lithuanian railways halts transport of Belarus potash – by Andrius Sytas (Reuters – January 31, 2022)

https://www.reuters.com/

VILNIUS, Jan 31 (Reuters) – The board of state-owned Lithuanian Railways on Monday voted to stop transporting potash produced by Belarus state-owned potash producer Belaruskali unless it gets government approval to resume, the rail company said in a statement.

Belaruskali, the world’s second-largest producer of the crop fertiliser which is a big cash earner for Belarus, was sanctioned by the United States last August, a year after a crackdown following a disputed presidential election which President Alexander Lukashenko said he won.

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‘The smart move is to buy it and break it up’: Speculation mounts as BHP examines Nutrien – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – January 29, 2022)

https://financialpost.com/

Don Bilson inadvertently waded into a minor Canadian political maelstrom over foreign investment when he dashed off a 250-word note on Jan. 19 suggesting Australia’s BHP Group Ltd. may want to buy Saskatoon-based Nutrien Ltd.

“I made an offhand remark,” the head of event-driven research at Gordon Haskett Research Advisors in New York told the Financial Post, “and, for some reason, the Canadian press thought I put a national jewel in play.”

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