Tom Polansek

CHICAGO (Reuters). Canada’s embassy in Chicago. Nutrien (NYSE:) As sanctions continue to restrict imports from Russia and Belarus to the United States, Ken Seitz, interim Chief Executive of the company’s fertilizer division, said that it is now weighing whether or not to increase production.

As a result of sanctions against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prices for crop nutrients like potash and fertilize have soared.

Concerns about food insecurity have been raised by the fact that some farmers are using less fertilizer. This has boosted profits at manufacturers like Nutrien or its rival Mosaic.

Seitz stated that Nutrien is currently analyzing the length of the Ukraine conflict in order to decide if there’s a need for increased production. Together, Russia, Belarus and China accounted for over 40% of the global potash exports last year. Potash is one of three crucial nutrients that boost crops yields.

Nutrien announced in March it was planning to double its production of potash to close to 1 million tonnes, or 15,000,000 tonnes per year as a response to supply uncertainties from Eastern Europe.

Seitz stated that the company can increase its production by 18 million tonnes, without having to make a large capital investment in Saskatchewan mines. To increase the production capacity, which would require larger investment from Saskatchewan’s mines to reach 18 million to 23million tonnes, Seitz stated.

Seitz spoke out Tuesday in an interview, saying that while we intend to expand our volume, it is not enough for us to stop at 18,000,000 tonnes. “We will continue to grow along with the market.”

On a conference phone, Seitz informed analysts that there would not be any increases in the future and that Russia’s incursion into Ukraine (which Moscow calls a “special military operations”) could have a significant impact on global fertilizer markets well beyond 2022.

He said that “Sanctions against Russia and Belarus can create lasting changes to global trading patterns because customers prioritise reliability of supply.”

Mosaic also stated on another call that they are exploring ways to debottleneck their mills in order to increase fertilizer production as fast as possible.

Mosaic stated that the initiatives will increase the country’s potash production by approximately 1.5 million tonnes before 2023. It also said it believes it will take between two and four years for global potash shortage to meet demand.