U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to buy cheaper potash fertilizer from Belarus have run into a problem: Alexander Lukashenko says the country has no spare volumes available for large-scale supplies to the United States.
A day earlier, Trump announced that Washington was working on a “major deal” with Belarus to purchase potash. He said Belarusian potash would cost the United States significantly less than supplies from Canada, which remains the main source of U.S. potash imports.
However, Lukashenko cast doubt on whether Belarus could actually supply the volumes Trump appeared to be counting on.
“Even if we wanted to supply potash fertilizers to other, Western markets today, we simply don’t have the necessary volumes. Everything has already been contracted,” Lukashenko said.
The situation comes amid trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa. Canada supplies the vast majority of U.S. potash imports, while Trump presented a potential deal with Minsk as a way to secure a cheaper alternative for American farmers.
On September 22, Trump said the United States would continue buying potash from Canada. At the same time, he reiterated that Belarus was willing to sell it at a lower price.
