Trump Announces “Massive” Belarus Potash Deal — But Belarus Says Its Supply Is Already Contracted

September 22, 2026 President Donald Trump announced Monday that the United States is working on what he called a “massive” agreement to purchase potash fertilizer from Belarus, saying the fertilizer could be obtained for substantially less than the United States currently pays Canada. “The United States is working on a massive Deal with respect to the purchase of Potash from Belarus,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the proposed price would be “substantially less” than Canadian supplies and calling it good news for American farmers and ranchers. (⁠ Investing.com ) However, statements from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko raised immediate questions about how large such a deal could actually be. Lukashenko said Monday that Belarus has already committed its available potash production under existing contracts. “Even if we wanted to supply [potash] to other, Western markets, we simply do not have those volumes — everything is contracted,” Lukashenko said, according to reporting based on statements from his office. (⁠ UPI ) That does not mean Belarus has no potash. Belarus is one of the world’s major potash producers. Rather, Lukashenko was saying that Belarus does not currently have large quantities of uncommitted production available for additional Western customers. There is also no indication yet that the United States and Belarus have signed a finalized “massive” purchase contract. Trump’s announcement said the United States was working on a deal, and no purchase volume, contract value, delivery schedule or other terms were disclosed. (⁠ Anadolu Ajansı ) The issue matters because the United States depends heavily on imported potash, an important source of potassium used in agricultural fertilizer. According to USDA figures cited by UPI, approximately 80% of U.S. potash imports came from Canada in 2024 , with Russia supplying another 16%. (⁠ UPI ) Replacing a significant portion of Canadian supply with Belarusian potash would also present logistica…