A Global Success Story
Yesterday, PotashCorp was a large Canadian potash company. Today, we are a thriving international fertilizer enterprise – the global leader in potash (K) with high-quality nitrogen (N) and phosphate (P) operations and widespread strategic investments. We are preparing to meet tomorrow's need for potash.
We sell our products in more than 50 countries, to three markets:
- Fertilizer, focused on balanced plant nutrition (N, P, K)
- Feed supplements, focused on animal nutrition (mainly P)
- Industrial, focused on products for high-grade food, technical and other applications (N, P as phosphoric acid, K).
Our offshore potash and phosphate sales are made primarily to government agencies and private importers. Most of our nitrogen, more than two-thirds of our phosphate and more than one-third of our potash is sold in North America, through our fertilizer, feed, industrial nitrogen and purified acid sales teams.
Fertilizer Is Our Business
PotashCorp strives to be the highest quality low-cost producer and sustainable gross margin leader in the products we sell and the markets we serve. We seek to be the supplier of choice to high-volume, high-margin customers with the lowest credit risk. To meet our goal of being the partner of choice, we continually look for ways to create superior value for all our stakeholders.
For the last four years, fertilizer has generated 60 percent of our sales and 70 percent of gross margin. Half of our fertilizer sales volumes, primarily potash and phosphate, went offshore in 2007. The rest, including most of our nitrogen fertilizers, was sold to North American retailers, cooperatives and distributors that provide storage and application services to farmers, the end-users.
Fertilizers are mainly applied in spring and fall in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Customer purchases are affected by crop prices (profitability), choice of crop, soil quality and conditions, climate and weather, and government policies and subsidies.
Among major crops, rice, corn, wheat and cotton require all three nutrients, while soybeans need mainly potash and phosphate.
