Pascal Thériault: For American farmers, it is impossible to do without Canadian potash

As the threat of impending tariffs and counter-tariffs loom, U.S. agricultural producers have very few options to substitute Canadian potash, an essential ingredient in fertilizer, McGill agronomist and economist Pascal Thériault told TVA Nouvelles.

"Doing without it is not really something that is possible," said Thériault, Director of McGill's Farm Management and Technology Program, in an interview on the Dumont show last week.

85% of potash used by American farmers is imported from Canada, home of the largest potash producer in the world (Canadian company Nutrien).

"Unfortunately for American producers, the only other options they have are Russia, Belarus and China, countries with which they are not on very good terms at the moment," Thériault noted, adding, "If we increase production costs in the United States for food, the consumer is going to pay directly."