Potash set to plummet as Uralkali abandons cartel

Investors and consumers could benefit from a drop in the price of potash.

Potash prices look set to tumble from their current level of around $400 per tonne after the world's leading producer, the Russian firm Uralkali, pulled out of a production cartel that it had been running with the Belarus-based Belaruskali. This cartel previously controlled around 40% of the global market, giving it massive control over prices.

Uralkali, which claimed the move was in response to Belaruskali making potash sales outside the two firms' marketing joint venture, has already said it will increase production to full capacity. The firm's chief executive, Vladislav Baumgertner, expects prices to fall as low as $250 per tonne in response, he told Russian newspaper Vedomosti. The move, which the FT likened to "Saudi Arabia pulling out of Opec", sent shares tumbling in potash companies around the world.

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