Potash prices high

Fertilizer demand pushes prices up

By Paul E. Teague -- Purchasing, 6/4/2008 11:43:00 AM

The increase in agricultural production worldwide is pushing up the price of fertilizer to the point that suppliers are projecting big profit jumps this year. One, K+S, a German company that supplies potash, boosted its profit forecast twice in three weeks last month. The increased demand has coupled with tight supplies. In April, purchasingdata.com quoted a Scotiabank Group economist as saying that the price of potash at the port of Vancouver, British Columbia had climbed to $412.50 per metric ton in March, up 129% from the previous year. (Spot potash is heading for $500-$600).

Scotiabank Economist Patricia Mohr said that potash was on its way to $500-600 per metric ton. It’s getting close. Buyers tell purchasingdata.com that they paid on average $480 per ton in May.