Trump said he would buy potash from Belarus, Lukashenko called it impossible

6 hours ago

The US is working on a major deal to purchase potash fertilizers from Belarus. President Donald Trump announced this on his social network Truth Social.

The price will be much lower than what we are paying Canada. This is great news for our farmers and ranchers, Trump said.

However, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said just hours before this announcement that even if potash fertilizer supplies to Western markets were fully restored, they would not be able to do so. He emphasized that all raw material volumes have already been booked under contracts.

According to the information I have... we were able to turn to the East. The ongoing negotiations with the Americans are proof of this. Many here are sounding the alarm, saying "Oh, potash!". Even if we wanted to supply products to Western markets, we do not have such volumes, everything has already been contracted, Lukashenko said.

The US imports almost all of its potash fertilizers. About 80 percent of these imports come from Canada, and another 12 percent from Russia. Belarus is one of the world's largest producers of potash fertilizers, alongside Canada, Russia, and China.

At the same time, due to sanctions, its ability to supply potash to Western markets is limited. These sanctions were imposed due to the brutal suppression of protests in Belarus in 2020 and Alexander Lukashenko's "involvement" in Russia's war against Ukraine.

After Donald Trump was re-elected for a second term, the US began to establish relations with Lukashenko. In particular, sanctions against the Belarusian potash industry were lifted. Following another visit of the US President's special envoy John Cole to Minsk on September 16, 25 political prisoners were released. After that, the US lifted sanctions against OJSC "Lakokraska" and the "Bellesbumprom" concern. Meanwhile, the European Union maintains restrictions on the import of Belarusian potash.