Mosaic for early deal on potash

NEW YORK: Mosaic Co, North America's second-largest fertilizer maker, expects China will agree within weeks to buy potash from European producers for less than $400 a metric ton.

"We think it's imminent - if it's not before Christmas, it's going to be shortly after the new calendar year," Mosaic Chief Executive Officer Jim Prokopanko said on Dec 8 at an investor conference in New York organized by Bank of America Corp. "It may be as much hope as guessing that it's going to be done by the end of this calendar year."

Potash demand declined this year as farmers and distributors shunned the crop nutrient amid expectations prices will fall further after China concludes negotiations with Belarusian Potash Co (BPC), the marketing arm for state-owned Belaruskali and OAO Uralkali. China is one of the world's biggest importers of potash.