Ravensdown looks to alternate supplies for potash amid Belarus tensions
Ravensdown, which supplies about half of New Zealand’s fertiliser, has secured alternative shipments of potash from Canada as it eyes rising tensions in Belarus, one of the main sources of the nutrient.
There are relatively few companies that export potash and those are based in Canada, Germany, Russia and Belarus, said Ravensdown spokesman Gareth Richards.
Belarus has hit the headlines over its forced diversion of a passenger jet to the capital of Minsk on Sunday (Monday NZT) in order to arrest an opposition journalist in a dramatic gambit some said amounted to state terrorism or piracy.
The United States and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on top Belarusian officials amid months of protests, which were triggered by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s re-election to a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that the opposition rejected as rigged. Western outrage is growing and the EU has threatened more sanctions after the diversion of the passenger jet.
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“The Belarus Potash Company that Ravensdown sources from has briefed us on the current difficulties there,” Richards said. “We have remained cautious about developments and, among other actions to manage risk, this prompted us to secure a shipment from Canada last year.”
Ravensdown is closely monitoring the situation and will follow Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade guidance and advice if or as that changes, he said.
Global demand for potash “greatly exceeds” supply which not only affects international prices but also surety of supply, he said.
Potash is plant-available potassium, used in plants for water uptake and synthesising plant sugars for use as food. Along with usage in the horticultural and arable sectors, potassium is particularly important for clover growth which can reduce the amount of nitrogen added to pasture because of clover’s ability to use nitrogen from the air.
Farmers and growers need to count on its availability at certain times of year, especially spring, Richards said. Spring shipments normally arrive in August and September and there was no reason to think New Zealand would be caught short, Richards said.
“We manage risks and supply disruptions in a volatile world so that farmers can depend on the provision of timely nutrients in bulk,” he said.