The world's second-largest potash producer Uralkali today said it will not reduce potash prices for India, even though some importers like IFFCO have asked for a discount due to rupee depreciation against the dollar.
"There will not be a price revision. We cannot offer discounts for individual markets while global demand is high and our plants are working at full capacity," Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner told PTI.
The company has no plans to cut potash prices for Vietnam either. The price for Vietnam remains linked to the South-East Asian spot price, which is now $535 a tonne, he said.
The Indian rupee fell to a historic low of Rs 52.73 per dollar on November 22 amid a deepening euro zone debt crisis.
Concerned over rising import costs due to the falling rupee, Indian importers like IFFCO recently demanded that global suppliers like Belarusian Potash Company (BPC), Canada's Canpotex and Russia's Uralkali slash potash prices for India by $36 per tonne.
India, which is dependent entirely on imports to meet the current demand of around six million tonne of potash, has contracted 5.5 million tonne this fiscal for a price of $470 a tonne in the second and third quarters and at $530 a tonne in the last quarter.
Out of this, 2.6 million tonne of potash has already made its way to the country.
The government decontrolled prices of phosphorous and potash fertilisers last year, but continues to give some subsidy as high global commodity prices have led to a sharp jump in domestic prices too.
Uralkali, a major potash exporter with a 20% share of the global market, has an annual production capacity of 10.6 million tonne at present.