PotashCorp to cut production by additional 400,000 tonnes

21 May 2009 02:45  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan will curtail potash production by an additional 400,000 tonnes in an effort to balance supply and demand, the Canada-based fertilizer company said late on Wednesday.

The action would bring total cuts to 3.9m tonnes for the year to date and 4.8m tonnes for the 2008-2009 fertilizer year, the company said.

“Farmers and fertilizer dealers in offshore and North American markets have opted to draw down nutrients in the soil and destock inventories, reducing short-term potash shipments but creating a large void in the potash supply chain that will soon need to be filled,” the company said in a statement.

"While short-term demand deferrals are uncomfortable, we always manage with a long-term view,” said PotashCorp president and CEO Bill Doyle. “Demand will inevitably return and - regardless of when that happens - we will be patient and preserve our assets until they are needed."

Shares of PotashCorp closed at $114.23 on the New York Stock Exchange, down 0.25%.

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By: Brian Ford
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