Mosaic Reports US Fertilizer Shipment Decline Due to Tariffs

Mosaic Co., a leading global producer of essential crop fertilizers, announced that US tariffs are negatively impacting its shipment volumes. Specifically, phosphate deliveries to the United States are significantly below last year's levels, as tariffs affect most sources of this nutrient. Concurrently, farmers are reducing fertilizer purchases amid falling corn and soybean prices driven by global trade uncertainties and expectations of large harvests. Despite the decline in US-bound shipments, Mosaic indicated that international markets are absorbing some of the displaced volumes. The company's second-quarter earnings revealed an $8 million loss in phosphate profits. China remains the largest global producer of phosphate fertilizer. On a positive note, rising prices for phosphate and potash—another vital fertilizer—led to increased net potash sales compared to the previous year, balancing out the reduced phosphate volumes and keeping overall sales steady. Since most potash production occurs in Canada and is exempt from US tariffs under North American trade agreements, it remains unaffected. The company's second-quarter sales volumes for phosphate and potash fell short of analys...