Wei Chengguang, president of the China Potassium Salts Industrial Association, has urged the government to have suppliers cut potash import prices by 26 percent, due to waning demand and a build up of stocks.

For the first half of 2013, China should pay less than $350 a metric ton, down from the $470 a ton it negotiated for the first six months of 2012, said Wei in a phone interview from Shanghai on Monday.

Wei's association doesn't participate in the talks. It's funded by 71 Chinese producers and research institutes, according to its website.

"The inventories and domestic production combined would probably be sufficient for domestic consumption next year," Wei said. "Imports may continue if prices are good." Prices above $350 would incur losses for Chinese importers, he said.

China Daily-Agencies