WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Canadian

fertilizer producer Nutrien ( NTR ) said on Thursday it expects

higher global potash demand in 2026 as big crop use this year

and tight supplies lead to increased sales.

The company also expects to determine in 2026 the future of

its phosphate business, which is a secondary fertilizer for the

company, generating about 6% of its earnings. The company might

"revise and reconfigure" the operations, look for partnerships,

or sell its assets, CEO Ken Seitz said on a third-quarter

conference call with analysts.

"The timing is good for that," said Seitz. Phosphate prices

are high in North America, there are attempts in the U.S. to

declare phosphate a strategic mineral, and the price outlook is

strong, he said.

"It's a supply story," said Seitz.

Global potash demand is expected to grow for a fourth

straight year due to big 2025 crops that depleted soil

nutrients.

* Global potash shipments are expected to be 74 million to

77

million metric tons in 2026, up from 73 million to 75 million in

2025, with diminished supplies in places like China driving

purchases.

* Nutrien ( NTR ) is managing an idled nitrogen fertilizer plant in

Trinidad, which it shut down in October because of long-running

concerns about port access and an affordable natural gas supply.

The company said the operation produces an insignificant portion

of its earnings and its lost production is being mitigated by

production elsewhere.

* The company expects about C$900 million from ongoing

divestitures of non-core assets in South America.

* Seitz said the non-core divestitures and search for

"strategic

alternatives" for the phosphate business are being driven by the

company's drive to boost profitability.