PotashCorp Announces Significant Potash Price Increase in 2008 Canpotex, Sinofert Agreement
April 16 2008 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Listed: TSX, NYSE Symbol: POT SASKATOON, SK, April 16
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.
(PotashCorp) announced today that Canpotex Limited (Canpotex), the
offshore marketing company for Saskatchewan potash producers, and
Sinofert Holdings Limited (Sinofert), a leading fertilizer
enterprise in the People's Republic of China (PRC), have reached
agreement on 2008 potash pricing at US $400 per tonne higher than
in 2007. As previously reported, Canpotex has prorated China's 2008
volumes and, as a result of the timing of this settlement and
unprecedented demand in other markets, has only 1 million tonnes
that it can commit to Sinofert through the remainder of this year.
The Canpotex/Sinofert agreement is pursuant to the 2007-2009
Memorandum of Understanding that exists between the two companies.
Canpotex ships primarily red standard grade potash to China, but
also supplies certain amounts of white standard grade and granular
product. "Significantly higher potash prices and extraordinarily
tight supply have become much more firmly entrenched since China's
previous contract was signed 14 months ago," said PotashCorp
President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Doyle. "With the intense
pressure on global food production and continued growth in potash
demand, this is the reality for our industry for the foreseeable
future. This settlement highlights the importance of securing
supply in an increasingly tight market. As the world's largest
potash company, we are committed to raising our capability to meet
long-term growth in demand and we intend to capture the benefits
for our shareholders as we do so." Canpotex is the offshore
marketing company jointly owned by three Saskatchewan potash
producers: PotashCorp, Agrium and Mosaic. PotashCorp, under a pro
rata agreement based on capacity, is currently entitled to supply
approximately 54 percent of Canpotex's potash requirements.
PotashCorp also owns 20 percent of Sinofert, the largest
distributor of fertilizer products in the PRC. Sinofert is also a
major producer of phosphate-based fertilizer products and holds an
18 percent interest in the country's primary potash producer,
Qinghai Salt Lake Potash Co., Ltd. Potash Corporation of
Saskatchewan Inc. is the world's largest fertilizer enterprise
producing the three primary plant nutrients and a leading supplier
to three distinct market categories: agriculture, with the largest
capacity in the world in potash, second largest in nitrogen and
third largest in phosphate; animal nutrition, with the world's
largest capacity in phosphate feed ingredients; and industrial
chemicals, as the largest global producer of industrial nitrogen
products and the world's largest capacity for production of
purified industrial phosphoric acid. This release contains
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain
factors and assumptions including foreign exchange rates, expected
growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and
opportunities and effective income tax rates. While the company
considers these factors and assumptions to be reasonable based on
information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. A
number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements, including, but not
limited to: fluctuations in supply and demand in fertilizer,
sulfur, transportation and petrochemical markets; changes in
competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; the results of
negotiations with China and India; timing and amount of capital
expenditures; risks associated with natural gas and other hedging
activities; changes in capital markets and corresponding effects on
the company's investments; changes in currency and exchange rates;
unexpected geological or environmental conditions, including water
inflow; strikes and other forms of work stoppage or slowdowns;
changes in and the effects of, government policy and regulations;
and earnings, exchange rates and the decisions of taxing
authorities, all of which could affect our effective tax rates.
Additional risks and uncertainties can be found in our Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 under captions
"Forward-Looking Statements" and "Item 1A - Risk Factors" and in
our filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and
Canadian provincial securities commissions. Forward-looking
statements are given only as at the date of this presentation and
the company disclaims any obligation to update or revise the
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required by law. DATASOURCE:
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. CONTACT: Investors: Denita
Stann, Director, Investor Relations, Phone: (847) 849-4277, Fax:
(847) 849-4691, Email: ; Media: Rhonda Speiss, Manager, Public
Relations, Phone: (306) 933-8544, Fax: (306) 933-8844, , Web Site:
http://www.potashcorp.com/
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