Potash
Overview
The potash market has been disrupted from its traditional trade flows and typically slow-moving price cycles, affected by new entrants, new mines, military conflicts and political tensions in countries that either produce or consume some of the largest quantities of potash in the world. The need for accurate insight and data is more acute than ever.
Our extensive potash coverage includes MOP, SOP and NOP. Argus has many decades of experience covering the potash market and we incorporate our multi-commodity market expertise to provide potash price assessments, analysis and data that provides the full narrative.
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Latest potash news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global potash industry.
Trump unlikely to reinstate Canada ferts tariffs: TFI
Trump unlikely to reinstate Canada ferts tariffs: TFI
Houston, 11 December (Argus) — US fertilizer industry group The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) expects US president Donald Trump does not intend to reinstate reciprocal tariffs on imported Canadian fertilizer products after previously commenting he could. Earlier this week when asked what action the Trump administration may take to bolster domestic fertilizer output and the US's reliance on imports from countries like Canada, Trump relayed that the US could impose severe tariffs "if we have to" and with those tariffs the US could be making its own fertilizer "very soon." "Based on information that we have at this time, including conversations with USDA officials, these comments do not indicate a change in current policy," TFI said Wednesday. "An open, fair, predictable, and transparent trading environment with key partners like Canada is vital to maintaining a stable, affordable supply of the crop nutrients US growers rely on," TFI noted. Following Trump's comments, several market participants agreed that it seemed unlikely tariffs would be reimposed on Canadian fertilizer imports given their status of being USMCA compliant and that tariffs would do little to improve the near-term fertilizer production outlook. The fertilizer market is "numb" to these kinds of comments, one distributor said. On a nutrient basis the US imported 98pc of its potash in 2023 and about 85pc of those imports came from Canada, according to TFI. The US imported 33pc of its urea consumption on a nutrient basis in 2023; 15pc of imports came from Canada, according to estimates from TFI. For ammonia, the US imported 12pc of its consumption, 50pc of which came from Canada. Also, 35pc of US ammonium sulfate imports came from Canada in 2024, according to US Census Bureau data. By Taylor Zavala Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Global fertilizer affordability recovers some ground
Global fertilizer affordability recovers some ground
London, 19 November (Argus) — Global fertilizer affordability remains weak at levels similar to those of September 2022, but has recovered slightly from a more than three-year low in August because of a fall in fertilizer prices. Nutrient affordability stood at 0.72 points in October, up from 0.69 in September and 0.61 in August, when it dropped to its lowest since April 2022, Argus data show. Global fertilizer affordability had been on a downward trend since January. An affordability index — comprising a fertilizer and crop index — above one indicates that fertilizers are more affordable compared with the base year set in 2004. An index below one indicates lower nutrient affordability. The fertilizer index in October crept up to just below June's levels at 0.74 points, driven by falling urea, phosphates and potash prices. But the crop index — which includes global prices for corn, wheat, rice and soybeans adjusted by output volumes — resumed its downward trend in October, having gained some ground in September, and crop prices are now as low as those of November 2019. Urea price falls were the heaviest in recent months, with fob Middle East prices in October down by over $100/t from recent highs in August, when they averaged just over $500/t fob. Prices fell as buyers hesitated in the face of renewed Chinese exports, which outweighed strong import demand from India. Most market participants remained cautious into October, largely because of the lack of clarity on potential fresh exports from China. But prices received support from the end of October onwards, driven by a flurry of buying in Europe ahead of the implementation of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on 1 January. Phosphate prices began to decline earlier. Moroccan DAP export prices have now shed $93/t at the midpoint from a peak in early August averaging just under $800/t fob, their highest since October 2022. The seasonal decline in global demand going into the fourth quarter coupled with higher DAP inventories in key destination markets — notably India — and wide-ranging affordability concerns pressured prices. Brazilian buyers turned to more affordable NPs and superphosphates ahead of soybean applications, fostering a surplus of MAP that similarly weighed on prices. Potash prices have experienced a milder decline, dropping by only $6/t since hitting a 28-month high in August at $314/t. MOP demand has slowed in most major importing markets since July, with ample inventories likely to be able to cover the majority of demand for the rest of 2025. By Elena Mataro Global fertilizer affordability index Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Chilean SQM’s 3Q potash revenue down on lower output
Chilean SQM’s 3Q potash revenue down on lower output
London, 19 November (Argus) — Chilean lithium and potash producer SQM's potash revenue and sales volumes fell significantly in the third quarter of this year compared with a year earlier, reflecting the company's ongoing strategy to prioritise producing lithium over MOP at its Salar de Atacama site. SQM's revenue from MOP sales in July-September was $33.8mn, halved from $68.2mn in the same period last year. The company's sales volume in the same quarter totalled 66,800t, down by 62pc from 175,700t a year earlier. The lower figure was caused by the company's planned downscaling of MOP production by around 50pc this year — to around 350,000t based on 2024 sales of 695,000t — in order to produce more lithium from its facility in Salar de Atacama. Revenue from SQM's specialty plant nutrition business, which handles NOP sales, reached $259.8mn in the third quarter, up by 4pc from $249.1mn in the same period last year. The company attributes the rise to firm demand in its main markets, especially in the Americas and Europe. Sales volumes in this sector totalled 277,800t, up by 2pc from 273,600t a year earlier. MOP revenue, output also down in Jan-Sep SQM's revenue from MOP sales in January-September was just $116.7mn, down by 43pc from $204.9mn in the same period last year. The company's MOP sales volumes in the first nine months of the year totalled 252,800t, down by 52pc from 528,600t a year earlier. Revenues from the specialty plant nutrition business during this nine-month period grew by 2pc on the year to $732.4mn. Sales volumes also rose by 2pc on the year, to 759,700t from 745,300t a year ago. By Aidan Hall Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Egypt’s NCIC issues fertilizer sales tender
Egypt’s NCIC issues fertilizer sales tender
London, 12 November (Argus) — Egyptian fertilizer producer NCIC has issued a tender to sell various fertilizers for loading by the end of December, closing on 24 November. NCIC is offering the following products in the tender: 80,000t of DAP — NCIC awarded DAP at $787-795/t fob in late September under its previous tender 40,000t of TSP — NCIC last awarded TSP at $580-585/t fob 30,000t of 20pc SSP — NCIC last awarded SSP at $175-183/t fob 5,000t of urea — NCIC offered 5,000t of granular urea in its previous tender but no awards emerged 15,000t of 26pc CAN — NCIC did not offer CAN in its previous tender 1,500t of water-soluble SOP in 50kg bags — NCIC did not offer SOP in its previous tender Bids are to be valid for two weeks and all cargoes will be priced on a fob basis. NCIC did not issue a sales tender in October, despite typically issuing one each month. By Tom Hampson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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