Russia Uralkali sees potash market up after crisis

MOSCOW, June 30 (Reuters) - Russian potash miner Uralkali said on Tuesday the industry will be among the first to recover after the financial crisis ends, though it said the market instability will persist in the near-term.

'Our production has slowed down, and we are prepared to respond to a market situation that will continue to remain unstable for some time,' the company said in a statement released in conjunction with its AGM.

'We are confident that the fundamental performance of the potash industry will remain competitive and believe that the potash fertilizer market will be one of the first markets to recover from the global downturn.'

Uralkali also said that during the downturn its priorities are to preserve jobs and reduce costs.

(Reporting by Alfred Kueppers) Keywords: URALKALI/ ([e-mail]; Tel [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.