The second largest shareholder became the Russian fertilizer producer Acron Group.

The company was bought in 2002 by the largest fertilizer producer in Turkey, Transworld Fertilizers.

Kemira GrowHow is a fertilizer producer headquartered in downtown Helsinki, Finland.

The world's biggest fertilizer producer, the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, said earnings this year would fall short of earlier estimates, by 8 to 17 percent.

The headline read: "Most fertilizer producers rarely give convenience a second thought."

The worst year was 1986, when fertilizer producers lost $439 million.

Largest fertilizer producer in Pakistan, it has also gained a prominent position in Mirpur Mathelo.

Now, Cargill is moving to acquire IMC Global, a large fertilizer producer that had sales of about $2 billion in 2002.

Under Mr. Kantor's supervision, Acron has become one of the world's leading fertilizer producers and distributors.

Achema is the largest fertilizer producer in the Baltic states.