Nutrien, the world’s largest potash producer, said on Thursday it was concerned that the impending Canada rail stoppage would hurt its ability to ship products.
Canada’s two main rail companies said last week they would lock out employees on August 22, if talks to negotiate a labour contract fail. A strike or lockout could bring the transport of goods in the country, which relies heavily on its railway network, to a halt.
“Nutrien relies on reliable rail service and we are concerned that labour action would impact the ability to move our products, which consequently may negatively impact farmers and food security around the globe,” it said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Fertilizer is the third-highest volume commodity shipped by the Canadian railways, according to industry group Fertilizer Canada.
Nutrien said it was taking proactive measures to mitigate the impact to its customers in the event of a short-term disruption. It also urged the parties involved to reach a timely resolution.
Chief Commercial Officer Mark Thompson had said earlier this month a strike would put potash volumes towards the lower end of the company’s forecast for the year.
Nutrien expects potash sales volumes to be between 13.2-million tonnes and 13.8-million tonnes for 2024.
Seth Goldstein from Morningstar expects lower potash volumes from both Nutrien and peer Mosaic in the event of a rail strike.
“The vast majority of potash if not all, is transported from the mines via rail, so any strike would impact volumes and the longer the strike, the larger the impact.”
Mosaic did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.