Canpotex, short for Canadian Potash Exporters , is a Canadian

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

exporting and marketing firm, incorporated in 1970 and operating since 1972. Based in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

, Canpotex manages the entire Saskatchewan potash exporting industry (excluding Canadian and US sales), including transportation and delivery. Canpotex is the world's largest exporter of

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

, selling over 10 million tonnes of potash every year, representing about one-third of global capacity. The global potash market was considered a

duopoly A duopoly (from Greek δύο, ''duo'' "two" and πωλεῖν, ''polein'' "to sell") is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market. It is the most commonly studied form of oligopoly due to its simplicity ...

between Canpotex and Belarusian Potash Company (BPC), a similar consortium which exported Belarusian (

Belaruskali Belaruskali ( be, Беларуськалі, russian: Беларуськалий) is one of the largest state-owned companies of Belarus. It is one of the largest producers of potash fertilizers in the world, accounting for 20% global supply as of ...

) and Russian potash (

Uralkali Uralkali ( rus, Уралка́лий, p=ʊrɐɫ'kalʲɪj) is a Russian potash fertilizer producer and exporter. It is traded on the Moscow Exchange using the symbol, URKA. The company’s assets consist of five mines and seven ore-treatment mill ...

); until the BPC marketing venture failed in 2013, the two collectively controlled 70% of global potash exports.

Member producers

Canpotex is wholly owned by its two member producers: *

The Mosaic Company The Mosaic Company is a Fortune 500 company based in Tampa, Florida which mines phosphate, potash, and collects urea for fertilizer, through various international distribution networks, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It is the largest U.S. producer o ...

Nutrien Nutrien is a Canadian fertilizer company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is the largest producer of potash and the third largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer in the world. It has over 2,000 retail locations across North America, South ...

Facilities

Canpotex operates over 5,500 specialised

covered hopper A covered hopper is a self-clearing enclosed railroad freight car with fixed roof, sides, and ends with openings for loading through the roof and bottom openings for unloading. Covered hopper cars are designed for carrying dry bulk loads, varyi ...

cars for inland transportation of potash from landlocked Saskatchewan to ports, and operates solely on

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

lines. In 2011, Canpotex started on the construction of a new $55 million rail car maintenance yard near the town of

Lanigan, Saskatchewan Lanigan (pop. 1300) is a town in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada, at the intersection of TransCanada Yellowhead Highway 16 and Highway 20, approximately 117 km east of Saskatoon and 170 km north of Regina. Lanigan is surround ...

used to perform maintenance and manage the inventory of railcars. The majority of its potash is shipped overseas to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

n, and

Oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places *Oceanic, British Columbia Oceanic is an unincorporated set ...

markets through Neptune Terminals, partly owned by Canpotex, in

North Vancouver North Vancouver may refer to: *North Vancouver (city), a city in British Columbia, Canada * North Vancouver (district municipality), a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada * North Vancouver (electoral district), a federal electoral di ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. Since 1997, Canpotex has additionally exported through Portland Terminals (owned by Canpotex and operated by

Kinder Morgan Kinder Morgan, Inc. is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. The company specializes in owning and controlling oil and gas pipelines and terminals. Kinder Morgan owns an interest in or operates approximately ...

) in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. Canpotex additionally ships smaller quantities of potash through the

St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Ameri ...

via

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populatio ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, and has access to ports on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the ...

and

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United S ...

Ships

Canpotex has committed $900 million to the manufacture of 15 cargo vessels. The first of these vessels, the '' U-Sea Saskatchewan'', built as a joint venture with Ultrabulk received its first load of 58,000 metric tons of potash in the

Port of Vancouver The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the fourth largest in North America by tonnes of cargo, facilitating trade between Canada and more than 170 world economies. The port is managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, whic ...

in November 2010. The ''U-Sea Saskatchewan'' was built by

Imabari Shipbuilding is a major Japanese ship building, marine engineering, and service company headquartered in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is Japan’s largest shipbuilder both in terms of tonnage and sales revenue, with design, research, construct ...

of Japan and is capable of carrying 60,000 metric tons. Other ships include the '' Ultra Colonsay''.

References

{{Saskatoon Corporations Companies based in Saskatoon Transport companies of Canada