Canadian Competitor Of Belaruskali Increases Production Of Fertilizers

The company shares have also gone up in price.

Canadian company Nutrien is expanding production of potash, taking advantage of that its Belarusian competitor Belaruskali is under the European and U.S. sanctions. The shares of the company are also on the rise. This is reported by the authoritative Canadian edition of The Globe and Mail.

Nutrien is the largest producer of potash fertilizers in the world. Belaruskali ranks second and is its main competitor in the market. However, sanctions have blocked the Belarusian company's most convenient deliveries through the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, and it has to rearrange its logistics. As a consequence, potash prices have risen to a ten-year high on the market, increasing farmers' costs and contributing to higher food prices, says the Canadian newspaper.

Nutrien is taking advantage of the situation, but with caution. Last year, the company sold its record 13.6m tonnes of potash, and it plans to sell 13.7m to 14.3m tonnes this year. Meanwhile, as Nutrien Acting CEO Ken Seitz noted, the company will be able to add another 500,000 tonnes in the second half of the year. After Nutrien forecast higher profits in 2022 the other day, the Toronto-based company's shares are already up 4%.

However, the company will only be able to make a decision on further expansion of production - which will require hiring additional staff and capital investment in the mines - once it is convinced that the problems Belarus is facing are really long term.

"We intend to take a very pragmatic approach here," Seitz said.