Potash Corporation to cut 2009 output by 20 percent (POT)

From Reuters via MineWeb:

The world's top potash miner, Canada's Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, says it will cut production by 2 million tonnes in 2009 as demand is expected to fall back in first quarter.

Potash Corp of Saskatchewan (POT.TO) will reduce 2009 potash output by 2 million tonnes, or about 20 percent, due to slackening market demand, the company said on Tuesday.

Potash, the world's top fertilizer producer, said it will produce less potash in the first quarter of the coming year due to a short-term lag in global demand as farmers feel the heat of the global financial crisis.

"Beyond (the quarter), we see demand accelerating through the balance of the year as farmers deplete existing stocks and work to rebuild global grain inventories from extremely low levels," Potash Corp Chief Executive Bill Doyle said in a statement posted on the Canadian company's website....MORE