Nutrien Ltd. announced late on Sept. 11 that it expects to proactively take up to eight-week inventory shutdowns at its Allan, Lanigan, and Vanscoy potash mines in Saskatchewan during the fourth quarter of 2019. The company said the production downtime is in response to a short-term slowdown in the global potash markets.
If all three potash facilities remain idled for the full eight weeks, Nutrien said potash production could be reduced by approximately 700,000 mt and potash annual EBITDA could be reduced by US$100-$150 million. Despite current market conditions, the company said it remains positive on potash demand for 2020, as well as the medium to long-term potash fundamentals.