By Mrinalika Roy

(Reuters) – Fertilizer Canada warned on Tuesday that disruptions across the country’s rail network would cost the fertilizer industry an estimated $55 million to $63 million a day in lost revenue, not including logistics and operating costs.

Canada is the largest producer and exporter of potash salts, the main ingredient in fertilizers, and 75% of all fertilizers produced and used in the country are transported by rail.

According to Fertilizer Canada, the railways transport an average of 69,000 tonnes of fertilizer per day, which is equivalent to four to five trains.

“Our industry remains very concerned about the potential for disruption to the dual-track rail network and the cascading impacts on the Canadian economy and global food security,” the organization said in an emailed statement.

The fertilizer industry contributed about $12 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product last year.

The organization, which represents manufacturers such as Nutrien and CF Industries, said last week the impact of the work stoppages was already being felt in the industry, with railroads imposing embargoes affecting some ammonia fertilizer products and halting their transportation.

Since 2018, seven work stoppages in the fertilizer industry supply chain have cost an estimated $976 million in lost revenue.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)