CF Industries Holdings Inc. reported net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $498.2 million ($8.38 per diluted share) on sales of $1.71 billion for the second quarter ending June 30, 2013 compared to the year-ago $606.3 million ($9.31 per share) on sales of $1.73 billion. Strong nitrogen volumes during the quarter of 3.61 million mt, partially offset lower urea and phosphate prices and phosphate volumes.

CF said it was still able to achieve the second highest EPS on record.

CF says the outlook for agriculture remains positive and it expects U.S. corn acreage of 92 million acres in 2014. While that would be down from 2013, CF noted that this is still a historically high figure. It also believes nitrogen inventories were significantly drawn down during the past season and farmers will need a significant amount of nitrogen starting with the fall season.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. President and CEO Bill Doyle today downplayed the recent Uralkali actions that have caused concern throughout the potash industry. Doyle, speaking in a virtual meeting on the PotashCorp website, said spats between Russian and Belarusian entities in the past were not uncommon. In those instances, they patched up their differences.

Asked about whether this was a temporary break-up, Doyle said he thought it would be “shorter rather than longer,” and that logic would prevail.

Doyle reiterated that there would be no change at Canpotex Ltd., the Saskatchewan producer export group, which just recently celebrated 40 years in business.

As for Uralkali’s assertion that prices may drop 25 percent, Doyle said no one producer can determine price, noting that supply and demand determines that.

Doyle called North America, PotashCorp’s largest market, and that Uralkali was not going to determine the price there. He said it might have influence in some places but not others. He noted that PotashCorp has extensive infrastructure throughout North America while Uralkali has no infrastructure and is only a minor player selling barges at the U.S. Gulf.

Asked about the prospect for new greenfield potash mines in light of the news, Doyle said they were not economical before the news.

Doyle said he believes nitrogen and phosphates have their own fundamentals and will not see an impact from new developments in the potash market.

K+S Group, citing the Uralkali/BPC break-up, has changed it assessment for 2013 operating earnings. K+S no longer maintains its forecast for a possible slight increase in operating earnings.

“In contrast to our competitors, who are focused exclusively on potash, we have a robust second pillar to our operations with our global salt business, which follows different market conditions” says Norbert Steiner, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of K+S Aktiengesellschaft. In addition, K+S offers its customers a product range that is not available from any other potash producer. “That makes
us more robust in the event that competition intensifies,” says Steiner.

Belaruskali has signed a preliminary agreement with Qatari-trading company Muntajat to market up to 3 million mt/y of its potash, according to the Belarus press. On July 30, Russia’s Uralkali announced that it was pulling out of a long-standing joint marketing venture, Belarusian Potash Co., that it had with Belaruskali. Muntajat is a relatively new trading company formed in 2012 to market Qatari chemical and fertilizer products.