News
Corn crop bad news for potash prices
By National Post
August 14, 2009 -Thursday brought forecasts for a record US soybean crop and near-record in corn; Friday brings news that the corn crop couldl adversely affect prices for potash.
August 14, 2009
Eric Lam
Investors hoping for a turnaround in the potash industry in the near-term appear to be out of luck as the US Department of Agriculture has revised its corn production estimates to near-record highs.
The USDA has upped its forecast for corn in 2009 to about 12.8 billion bushels, compared with previous estimates of 12.3 billion and also higher than market consensus of 12.5 billion bushels. If the USDA estimates hold out, this bumper crop would be the second largest on record.
Even worse for potash producers, weather conditions are expected to be favourable for crop growth in the next few weeks, putting even more pressure on the fertilizer industry.
