News from the early morning on Aug. 27 Beijing time--According to a report by the Russian New Agency, Vladislav Baumgertner, CEO of Uralkali, the largest potash producer in the world, was arrested in Belarus on Monday.

While Uralkali announced at the end of last month that it would withdraw from the potash sales alliance BPC which has been existing for 8 years, the arrest is making the friction between Russia and Belarus even worse.

As it is said in the Russian newspaper, “Belarus's Investigative Committee said Monday that they suspect Baumgertner of planning to cause a drop in the potash market by quitting the joint venture ‘in order to gain material benefits’."

Uralkali's shares dropped 20 percent since it decided to quit the cartel, while the price of potash has decreased by 5 percent to $390 a ton. Uralkali executives said they expected the price to drop to $300 by the end of the year.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov expressed on Monday the government's concern over Baumgertner's arrest and said that the actions of Belarusian authorities were "strange and improper."