Aug 20 (Reuters) – Fertilizer Canada warned on Tuesday that disruptions across the country’s rail network would cost the fertilizer industry an estimated C$55 million to C$63 million ($40.34 million to $46.21 million) 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.

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

(1 US dollar = 1.3634 Canadian dollars)

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Mrinalika is a business reporter who has covered the energy and mining industries in North America for Reuters since 2022 and is based in India.