The unprecedented volatility in fertilizer markets that’s contributed to
"Much of that is behind us," said Seitz in an interview Thursday.
"As markets have stabilized ... and grower affordability has come up, we see demand increasing."
Seitz expects demand for potash to return closer to 2021 levels at some point next year.
"We are encouraged by the positive market developments over the second half of 2023 and particularly the strength of crop nutrient demand in
The
Sales for the quarter were
The company narrowed its guidance for full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be between
The volatility in fertilizer markets over the previous year and a half led
Now, Seitz said he feels comfortable with Nutrien’s current capacity heading into 2024, but that the company will be ready to hit play on that ramp-up again when it seems appropriate.
"We use the word pause, because we do have up to 18 million tonnes of available low capex incremental production that we can deploy into the market. And we'll watch the evolution of demand and supply," he said.
"And as that all evolves, to the extent that our customers are calling for more tonnes, we will deploy the capital into that low-cost network to increase production."
As demand grows for potash,
The company is building one of the world's largest potash mines and doubling its investment in the product, with anticipated first production for Stage 1 planned for late in 2026.
Though the early stages of the project may see BHP and
"We believe that
"Some of that new production will be ours. Some of that new production, I'm sure, will be others."
The company also suspended work on its
"We haven't seen with confidence those end markets really evolve into a place where you can commercially deploy clean ammonia and receive the premium associated with those new end markets," he said.
"We're going to probably take the next couple of years to watch how this all evolves."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
-With files from
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