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PotashCorp says it will stop production next month at the Allan and Lanigan mines.
The company said it wants to match supply with market demand, so it will curtail production at the two mines for a month starting March 20.
Potash Corp says the stoppage will be done through maintenance shutdowns and there will be no layoffs.
The halt comes potash prices continue to fall on world markets, tumbling all the way to less than $300 per tone from $900 in 2008. Two weeks ago India announced low demand caused by drought pushed the country to stop importing potash for the year to end-March and delay negotiations for next year’s contracts until at least June.
PotashCorp expects the move will reduce their 2016 production by as much as 400,000 tones. Last year they did the same thing at the Allan, Lanigan and Cory mines and sped up the November closure of its Penobsquis mine, near Sussex, N.B.
Last month they also announced the indefinite shutter of its new Picadilly, N.B. potash mine which put 430 people out of work.
