Low costs offset cyclical risk

Article Excerpt

The outlook for fertilizers is bright. Rising populations in developing countries will prompt farmers to increase food production. As well, more countries are turning to biofuels, such as ethanol from corn, to cut air pollution and fossil-fuel use. However, fertilizer prices have become highly volatile in the past few years. To cut your risk, we recommend low-cost producers that can withstand and take advantage of these price swings. For example, Potash Corp.’s large reserves will last decades. That means it won’t have to spend large sums on exploration. Agrium needs natural gas to make its products, so it will benefit from new gas discoveries in North America. POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN INC. $112 (Toronto symbol POT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 296.0 million; Market cap: $33.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 7.8; Dividend yield: 0.4%; SI Rating: Average) is the world’s largest fertilizer producer. It has six potash mines in Saskatchewan and one in New Brunswick. Five of its mines have reserves…