July 10, 2012
Potash producers to face antitrust lawsuit
Potash Corp. and several other potash suppliers will face an antitrust lawsuit as US appeals court ruled and reversed a September decision.
A few companies dominate the market, including Potash Corp., Potash Sales, Mosaic Crop Nutrition, Agrium, and a handful of Russian and Belarusian companies.
Potash, derived from naturally occurring ore deposits, has a limited reserve, with much of the production confined to Canada and the former Soviet Union.
In all, seven companies, including those above, are named in the suit filed by Minn-Chem Inc. The 2011 complaint alleges that these seven companies produced 71% of the world's potash and restrained global potash output in order to inflate prices.
The complaint also alleges that the companies would first negotiate prices in Brazil, India and China, and then use those prices as benchmarks for US sales.