Potash

Saskatchewan supplies 1/3 of the world’s potash.
Growing global population suggests that demand will growby more than 2 million tonnes annually.
Rapidly growing worldwide demand supports the explorationand development of new mining projects in the Province.
Depletion of soil fertility requires added nutrients.
Bio-fuel production is rapidly increasing demand for potash.
The world’s constantly rising population is stretching the limits of the world’s arable land, food and water.
The combination of increasing population and improving diets has driven up the global demand for food.

Fertilizer is vital because it allows farmers to produce more crops on less land. Without fertilizer, we would need at least 40 percent more farmland.

To meet rising grain demand, it is critical to compensate for the historical under-application of fertilizer that has limited production in developing countries.
For decades, countries such as China, India, and Brazil have under-applied potash compared to other nutrients that are more readily available from domestic resources.
China, the world’s largest fertilizer consumer, still needs to apply more of all three nutrients—approximately 25 percent more nitrogen, 40 percent more phosphate and more than triple its current potash application—to meet scientifically recommended levels and maximize production.
Strong potential returns for farmers around the world provide the economic incentive to apply fertilizer. The long-term payback from balanced fertilization is 3:1 or higher, whether the crop is rice in China, soybeans in Brazil or corn in the US.

Source: PotashCorp