Applications
Fertilizer Strengthens plant roots and improves water retention, contributing to greater yields and disease resistance; enhances crop color and texture
Feed supplements Aids animal growth and milk production
Industrial Used in TV screens, soaps, de-icers and water softeners
Competitive Strengths
- Few good global deposits, mostly private ownership and substantial barriers to entry, with high capital costs and long lead times
- Low-cost, flexible producer with almost one-quarter of world capacity and capability to substantially raise capacity in less time and at a significant discount to comparable greenfield capacity
- Access to key markets through Saskatchewan and New Brunswick operations and a global distribution network
- Strategic offshore potash-related investments add considerably to overall profitability
| Strategies |
Risks |
Mitigation |
Capability to Deliver |
- Meet expected rising demand through expansions of existing facilities, raising operational capacity from 10.8 MMT in 2008 to a potential of 17.2 MMT by 2015
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- Insufficient capacity available in time to meet expected growing demand
- Inadequate transportation and distribution capability to supply markets
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- Time capacity additions to meet market need
- Invest in distribution chain
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- Announced $4.5 billion of projects in 2007 to substantially raise future capacity
- Enhancing infrastructure – railcars, distribution terminals and port facilities – in North America and offshore
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- Produce only what the market requires
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- Limit production in periods of lower demand
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- Production curtailed historically to prevent inventory overhang
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- Extend global potash enterprise
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- External factors reduce our ability to be the low-cost, delivered supplier into all key world markets
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- Invest in global potash-related companies to provide strategic opportunities and contributions to our bottom line
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- Our historical acquisition costs of SQM, APC, ICL and Sinofert total $1.3 billion, while their combined market value at February 20, 2008 was $6.5 billion
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