China secures below-market prices from Belarusian Potash

China has secured very low prices for the fertilizer potash from Belarusian Potash Co, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the deal. China will take delivery of 1 million tons of potash in 2010 at US$350 a metric ton including freight costs, which analysts said was US$50 below current market prices. Prices for the fertilizer reached highs of US$1,000 per ton in 2008, when China consumer 22% of the world’s production, but the economic crisis sharply reduced demand. Belarusian Potash represents Russian and Belarusian producers. China’s success in securing below-market rates for potash – with demand expected to increase next year – stands in stark contrast to the stalemate in 2009 iron ore negotiations. Those negotiations produced no contracts, forcing steel makers to buy raw materials from the spot market.