Potash Long Term Demand Rising

Potash speaker, Paul Burnside of British Sulphur, indicated that long-term demand for potash and other fertilizers is rising. The demand is being driven by an increase in global population, which should subsequently lead to increased demand for food, and a fall in arable land per capita ratio. “Medium-term demand growth should come from new soybean crops in Brazil, higher yields on all crops in India, more balanced application ratios for nitrogen, phosphate and potash in China, bioethanol demand in the US, and new plantings of oil palm in Indonesia and Malaysia,” Desjardins Securities mentions.

“During 2009, China was one of the first countries to see a decline in potash consumption due to the high prices in 2008. India, on the other hand, continued to purchase potash. The country was virtually unaffected by the financial crisis as a result of a government subsidy on fertilizers, and has been importing at record rates,” according to the analysts.

Mr Burnside is expecting “total shipments of potash of 45.9 MMT in 2010 and 53.6 MMT in 2011.”