Mosaic quarterly profit drops 18 percent on weak phosphate sales

Oct 2 (Reuters) - Fertilizer producer Mosaic Co posted an 18 percent decline in quarterly profit on Tuesday due to drops in prices and volumes of phosphate, a key farming nutrient.

For the first quarter ended on Aug. 31, the company reported net income of $429.4 million, or $1.01 per share, compared with $526 million, or $1.17 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 19 percent to $2.51 billion.