Canpotex closes potash deal with China

The product is to be shipped to China before the end of March. Canpotex said the potash is being sold "at competitive prices" but did not disclose a specific number.

Although the potash industry had been in the doldrums for much of 2009, Canpotex said that the overseas potash market is now "much-improved."

If so, that is a welcome development for the Saskatchewan government, which expected potash revenues to account for one-fifth of its budget last spring before the market went into a tailspin.

In November, the province said it calculated potash would bring about US$93 million into the treasury for the year, US$1.7 billion less than was originally budgeted in March.

Canpotex is the marketing company owned by three Saskatchewan potash-producing companies: Potash Corp., Mosaic and Agrium Inc.