Agrium and PotashCorp merger will be delayed by trade negotiations

A deal that will bring together two massive agriculture companies is expected to be delayed by trade issues.

A corporate merger between PotashCorp and Agrium is now expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter of 2017.

The new company, Nutrien, will bring PotashCorp's huge network of fertilizer mines together with Agrium's global direct-to-farmer retail network. The company is expected to be worth $36 billion US.

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In a press release, the two companies said they were working with the Canadian Competition Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission to resolve issues surrounding superphosphoric and nitric acid.

As well, China's Ministry of Commerce and the Competition Commission of India are also conditioning their approvals of the deal on the sale of PotashCorp's minority share of several offshore companies.

The merger was initially expected to close in the thirdquarter of this year.

The new firm would be the world's number one producer of potash and number two producer of nitrogen fertilizer with operations in 18 countries and more than 20,000 employees worldwide.