Uralkali expects potash supplies up in 2013

Global shipments of potash are expected to rebound in 2013, according to OAO Uralkali. The increase is expected due to increasing demand from Asia and the United States.

Deliveries will return to 54 million metric tons to 55 million tons in 2013, Chief Executive Officer Vladislav Baumgertner said in Moscow, according to Bloomberg. That compares with as little as 48 million tons this year, a 16 percent decline from 2011, Uralkali data show.

Part of the reason for the decline was that China and India, two of the largest potash buyers in the world, delayed signing their contracts, causing prices to decline. Demand is projected to recover as surplus inventories will shrink and farmers will demand more fertilizer to produce more crops.

In addition, China and India are expected to sign their contracts with Uralkali relatively soon. Reports vary as to when those deals will actually be signed. Bloomberg reports that Uralkali expects contracts to be signed with China in April or May and in January for India. However, other sources say India’s deal will come sometime within the first quarter of 2013.

Getting these two countries to sign contracts will go a long way in boosting the potash markets, much to the potash manufacturers hopes.

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