Mosaic cuts phosphate fertiliser production

The Mosaic Company, one of the world's leading producers and marketers of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients, has announced that it is reducing phosphate fertiliser production, primarily because of high sulfur and ammonia prices. This curtailment will result in lower operating rates at Mosaic's mines and concentrates plants, but is not expected to result in employee layoffs.
 
Jim Prokopanko, Mosaic's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Phosphate raw material input costs are disconnected from fundamental agricultural economics, and have escalated despite weaker grain and oilseed prices. In the near term, we will be margin-focused and will limit inventory build-up during the seasonally-slow part of the year.”
 
He added, “Crop nutrients remain affordable for farmers, and we continue to expect a good fall application season in North America and record-setting phosphate and potash global shipments in 2014, followed by another year of growth in 2015. We remain confident about the supply and demand fundamentals for phosphates, especially as large crop harvests remove large amounts of nutrients from the soil.”
 
The Mosaic Company also announced an update of volume guidance for its third calendar quarter 2014. The company now expects potash and phosphate sales volumes to be at or near the lower-end of the previously communicated ranges, primarily as a result of weather-driven production outages in potash, and in part driven by timing of shipments in phosphates. Prices are expected to remain near the midpoints of the prior guidance ranges.