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Potash exports reported down 50.9 percent in first two months

Belarus exported 377,200 tons of potash in January and February 2012, 50.9 percent less than in the same period of the previous year, according to the National Statistics Committee (Belstat).

Potash prices for foreign customers averaged out at $757 per ton, a year-on-year increase of 22.1 percent, Belstat said. A total of 5,800 tons of potash was supplied to countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a decrease of 70.5 percent, with the average per-ton price rising by 19.9 percent to $715.

Potash exports to non-CIS countries decreased by 50.3 percent and total 371,400 tons, while the average price being $758 per ton, a 22.1-percent increase.

Experts link the decrease in Belarus' potash exports to a decline in the demand, which they say caused many producers to reduce their sales to keep the prices up. Potash consumption in Brazil and Asian countries in 2012 is expected to stay at last year's level, but their import of potash fertilizers may decrease because of large stockpiles.

Belarus exported 17,400 tons of nitrogen fertilizers in January and February 2012, 6.6 percent less than in the same period of the previous year, according to Belstat.

A total of 144 tons of nitrogen was supplied to CIS countries, an increase of 120 percent, and 17,270 tons of nitrogen was supplied to non-CIS countries, a decrease of 7.1 percent. The average price decreased by 17.3 percent to $735 per ton. //BelaPAN