Fertiliser group K+S says tariffs will challenge U.S. farmers (updated)
03/02/2025 11:47
(Adds possible consequences for the company from paragraph 4)
By Patricia Weiss
FRANKFURT, Feb 3 (Reuters) - German mineral mining group
K+S SDFGn.DE , which also produces potash fertilisers in
Canada, said that import tariffs to be imposed by the United
States would greatly challenge U.S. farmers.
"The Unites States, one of the largest users of potash
fertilisers, does not have any noteworthy potash fertiliser
production of its own and therefore relies on larger import
quantities," the company said in a statement, when asked to
comment on the tariffs.
"The decision that was just taken therefore poses a great
challenge for the domestic agriculture sector," it added.
The group ships about 300,000 tonnes of potash from its
Bethune site in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan into the
U.S. per year, which compares with about 10 million tonnes of
total U.S. potash imports.
The impact on its business was therefore "relatively
minor". K+S added that it could redirect volumes from Canada
elsewhere on short notice and that it was considering expanding
exports from its German mines into the United Sates.
(Reporting by Patricia Weiss, writing by Ludwig Burger, editing
by Kirsti Knolle and Miranda Murray)
((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220133634;))