Mosaic Company (the) (MOS)

[eastunder]

Potash, Mosaic sink after Uralkali stops sales through Belarusian
Russia’s Uralkali, one of the world’s largest potash producers, said this morning that its board has decided to stop its export sales through Belarusian Potash Company and direct all export volumes through Uralkali Trading.

The company said, "Unfortunately, we should state that our cooperation with our Belarusian partners within BPC framework has come to a deadlock. It has always been Uralkali’s position that export activities of both producers should go through the unified sales network. This fundamental principle of partnership was violated by the Decree No.566 issued by the Belarusian President on 22 December 2012, which cancelled the exclusive right of BPC to export Belarusian potash. Following the issue of the Decree, Belaruskali has made a number of deliveries outside BPC."

Uralkali expects global potash prices to drop below $300 a ton following the changes to its trading policy, Bloomberg reported, citing comments from CEO Vladislav Baumgertner on a phone call. Shares of Potash (POT) and Mosaic (MOS) are trading significantly lower in pre-market trading following the news, while Agrium (AGU) and CF Industries (CF) are down as well.