the imports from the rest of the world.
The potash import tonnage from the rest
of the world is counted only at the port of
entry and is not tracked to the State in
which the potash is applied to the field.
The major States for shipments of
nonagricultural potash from Canadian and
United States producers, in decreasing
order, were Alabama, Ohio, Delaware,
Wisconsin, and Mississippi. These five
States accounted for 75 % of the total.
Domestic producers supplied less than
1% of the first four States and 100% of
Mississippi.
Stocks
Yearend producers' stocks increased
8 % compared with those of 1992.
Yearend stocks represented 20 % of
annual production or about 11 weeks of
average production.
Prices
The average annual price, $193.06 per
ton f.o.b. mine, of U.S. potash sales of
all types and grades was about 2 %
greater than that of 1992. (See table 7.)
The average price was $187.88 for the
first half of the year and $200.91 for the
second half of the year. The average
annual price of the three grades of
muriate was $127.84, down 6 % from that
of 1992.  For the full calendar year
standard grade averaged $130.56 per ton;
coarse grade, $124.94 per ton; and
granular grade, $126.95 per ton. The
average annual price for all grades of
sulfate of potash averaged $329.59 per
ton, essentially unchanged.
Foreign Trade
Total potash exports from the United
States as reported by the Bureau of the
Census decreased 37% relative to those
of 1992. (See tables 8 and 9.) Muriate
of potash fell 49% and sulfate of potash
fell 28 %.  Only sulfate of potash
magnesia exports increased, about 14%.
By half year, muriate of potash exports
(in competition with the exports from the
former U.S.S.R. states and others) to all
countries decreased from 242,000 tons in


the first half of 1992 to 184,000 tons in
the second half of 1992, 121,000 tons in
the first half of 1993, and 96,000 tons in
the second half of 1993. Exports of
muriate of potash to Latin America,
where U.S. potash producers historically
had transportation cost advantages, fell
from 196,000 tons in the first half of
1992 to 148,000 tons in the second half
of 1992, 100,000 tons in the first half of
1993, and finally 72,000 in the second
half of 1993. Exports of muriate to
Brazil declined from 106,000 tons in the
first half of 1992 to 81,000 tons in the
second half of 1992, 33,000 tons in the
first half of 1993, and 29,000 tons in the
second half of 1993. For 1993, 42% of
all potash exports was muriate of potash
shipments to Latin America while 17 % of
all potash exports was sulfate of potash
shipments to the countries in and around
the Pacific Ocean.
Potash imports for consumption into
the United States as reported by the
Bureau of the Census increased slightly
relative to those of 1992. (See tables 10
and 11.) Imports of muriate of potash
increased by less than 3 % while sulfate of
potash increased by nearly 29 %.
Potassium nitrate imports fell by 28%.
Imports of muriate of potash from
Canada increased to 3.84 million tons.
Muriate of potash from Canada was about
90% of total potash imports and about
72% of total U.S. consumption of potash.
Imports from the former U.S.S.R.
(Russia, Belarus, and from those two
countries passing through Latvia) rose by
about 4 %  to 205,000 tons.  These
imports provided less than 5 % of potash
imports and less than 4% of total U.S.
consumption of potash.  Imports of
muriate from Israel rose 94% to 142,000
tons.
World Review
World potashproductionwas estimated
to have declined about 13 % from that of
1992. (See table 12.) Production has
declined about 11 million tons in the past
5 years, a drop of 34.5 % from the
production level of 1988. World price,
as exemplified by the per ton price of
standard muriate of potash, f.o.b.


Vancouver, Canada, was about $167 per
ton ($100 per ton product) in January and
February, jumping to about $182 per ton
in March, and declining to about $177
per ton in December.2 This price would
have been lower had Canpotex Ltd.
attempted to compete in the South
American market where pricing was
much lower.
Argentina.-Potasio Rio Colorado SA
of Minera Tea has reported an ore grade
of 27% to 28% K20. Minera Tea has
written of a 150,000-ton-per-year K20
muriate of potash for 25 years, which
calculates to about a 5-million-ton reserve
using solution mining technology. FMC
Lithium International is investigating the
Salar del Hombre Muerto for lithium
production; potash may be a byproduct of
the operation.
Belarus.-The potash producer in
Belarus produced only 1.95 million tons
from a capacity of 5.6 million tons in
1993 as it struggled with gas supply
dislocations,  reduced    domestic
consumption, and fluctuations in potash
exports owing to several factors, such as
loss of rail cars at new national
boundaries, inability to coordinate train
shipment arrivals with vessel arrivals, and
transportation price increases. Domestic
consumption has been suppressed partially
because approximately one-quarter of the
arable crop land was rendered unusable
by fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear
station accident in 1988. Potash was
exported through the Latvian port of
Ventspils. Belarus potash passed through
Ventspils more easily than Russian
potash. The Belarus potash producers
announced their intent to jointly construct
an exporting dock in Gdansk, Poland,
with Gdansk port officials. Rail freight
tariffs increased by 50% in October, but
it is not clear how much this affected
sales. Belarus sold through the export
group AgroChemExport, a former state
operation, through the year but the three
large  potash  producers,  including
Beloruskalil, planned to form their own
sales organization in 1994.


PalrASH-1993






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