Updated: Trump says U.S. will still buy Canadian potash

Washington, D.C. (Rural Roots Canada) – American President Donald Trump says the United States will continue to buy Canadian potash, but he still wants it at a lower price.

Earlier this week, Trump announced the U.S. was working on a deal to get more potash from Belarus instead of Canada.

“The United States is working on a massive Deal with respect to the purchase of Potash from Belarus,” wrote Trump on his social media platform, Truth Social. “The price would be for substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada, very good news for our Farmers and Ranchers.”

But in remarks published by his office, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the country is unable to supply large volumes of potash to the U.S., since its output is already contracted for the year.

“Even if we wanted to supply [potash] to other Western markets, we simply do not have those volumes – everything is contracted,” said Lukashenko.

Speaking to reporters at the U.N. General Assembly, Trump pivoted away from his social media post and said they would still get their potash from Canada, but that Belarus would like to sell it for a lower price,

Canada is the world’s largest producer and exporter of potash and supplies the U.S. with the majority of its fertilizer products, including potash.

In a statement to Rural Roots Canada following Trump’s initial announcement, Fertilizer Canada said Canada has been a reliable supplier to North American farmers for decades.

“Supported by geography and a highly integrated supply chain, Canadian potash helps ensure growers have access to the nutrients they need, when and where they need them,” it reads. “Reliability, proximity, transportation infrastructure, product availability and the ability to deliver during critical application windows all matter. A strong and integrated North American fertilizer supply chain helps support farm productivity, affordability and food security on both sides of the border.”

In a post on social media, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe defended the province’s potash industry, pointing out that over 40 countries have sanctions on Belarus for “supporting war criminal Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”

“Buying blood potash from Belarus is supporting Russian aggression,” he said. “It’s wrong, and it doesn’t make sense.”

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