Canpotex Reaches Potash Deal with India for $370 per Ton

Canpotex (the Canadian potash 'cartel') struck a deal with India Friday for $370 per ton. Quite a far cry from the good ole days of 2008.  [Mar 27, 2008: Canpotex Potash Contracts Secured with India @ $625]  But hopefully the market has bottomed out, as we are seeing some inventories finally falling.

Via Reuters:

• Canpotex, the export arm of Canadian potash producers, said on Friday it has signed a deal to sell 600,000 tonnes of potash to Indian buyers at a delivered price of $370 a tonne.  The pricing of the deal is consistent with most analysts' expectations, but it is an incremental positive for producers, as it indicates that potash pricing has bottomed out and demand has begun to rebound from the dismal levels of 2009.
• Canpotex said the new supply contract with India covers shipments through June 2010.
• "We are encouraged to see physical product flow of potash, which confirms both an improvement in go-forward inventory levels and resumed offshore demand," TD Newcrest analyst Paul D'Amico said in a note to clients.  Many analysts speculated that the price of that contract settled at around $350 to $360 per tonne, which is roughly in line with the $350 price that China agreed to with BPC in December.
• Canpotex, which is jointly owned by Potash Corp (POT), Mosaic Co (MOS) and Agrium Inc (AGU), said the deal was reached with a consortium of Indian buyers including Coromandel International and Tata Chemicals Ltd..  Potash Corp, the world's largest producer of the crop nutrient, supplies Canpotex with almost 54 percent of the consortium's potash requirements, with Mosaic and Agrium contributing about 37 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
• Last week, Canpotex signed a deal to sell 350,000 tonnes of potash to China's Sinofert at an undisclosed price.
•  Potash emerged from obscurity a few years ago when high grain prices, tight supplies and strong demand drove prices above $1,000 a tonne from below $150.  Potash emerged from obscurity a few years ago when high grain prices, tight supplies and strong demand drove prices above $1,000 a tonne from below $150.

 

 

 
 Long Potash in fund; no personal position