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Canpotex to sell potash at $1,000/tonne-analyst
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN1636121620080716?rpc=44&sp=true


WINNIPEG, Manitoba, July 16 (Reuters) - Canpotex, the export marketing consortium for Canadian potash miners, has raised its spot price for some Asian buyers to $1,000 per tonne, an analyst at J.P. Morgan said on Wednesday.

The new price is up 21 percent from current delivered values, and will take effect in the fourth quarter, David Silver wrote in a note to clients, quoting fertilizer industry consultant FMB Group Ltd.

Silver said the price hike would boost earnings for Potash Corp (POT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Mosaic Co (MOS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Agrium Inc (AGU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which jointly export potash under the Canpotex banner.

"We believe the rapid rise in offshore potash prices will put increase pressure on importers in India and China ahead of their upcoming negotiations for new supply contracts later this year," Silver wrote.

Earlier on Wednesday, Belarussian Potash Company (BPC) said it sold 40,000 tonnes of potash to Sri Lanka at a record price of $1,050 per tonne.

The BPC consortium exports the mineral for Russian miner Uralkali (URKA.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) amd Belaruskali, and had earlier hiked its spot prices to $1,000 per tonne, effective July.

Fertilizer prices have skyrocketed because of record prices for grains, fueled by growing world consumption of food and biofuels as well as depleted stocks.

As of June, spot prices for potash exported from Canada had climbed about 200 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Potash Corp, the world's largest fertilizer company.

Potash Corp said last week it would increase its U.S. prices by $250 per short tonne, which J.P. Morgan's Silver estimated would make the price $772 per short tonne, an increase of 48 percent.

China, the world's largest potash importer, is paying about $660 per tonne (delivered) under a contract that expires later this year -- about triple its 2007 price -- and India, another major buyer, is paying $625 per tonne.

Silver said he expected higher prices would boost earnings per share by $1.90 for Potash Corp, 90 cents to $1 for Mosaic, and 60 cents for Agrium.

($1=$1.00 Canadian) (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Peter Galloway)