CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 2005--

    ALL AMOUNTS ARE STATED IN U.S.$

Agrium Inc. (TSX:AGU) (NYSE:AGU) announced today that net earnings for the first quarter were $24-million ($0.18 diluted earnings per share), more than double earnings of $11-million ($0.08 diluted earnings per share) for the comparable period last year.

"We had a great first quarter and expect an excellent second quarter", said Mike Wilson, Agrium's President and CEO. "Demand and pricing for both urea and potash have continued to strengthen and were the major contributors to the increase in our earnings, in what is normally a seasonally slow quarter. Strong North American markets should result in our urea and ammonia sales for the first half being well above last year's levels. Our retail business yet again delivered improved year-over-year results, and all indications are that this will continue in the second quarter. Our phosphate business also remained a stable contributor to our earnings."

"We continue to see momentum in our earnings due to strong industry fundamentals and are optimistic about market conditions for the next few years", said Mr. Wilson. "We recently announced a share buyback program as a reflection of our ongoing confidence in our future share price growth, and remain committed to actively pursuing growth opportunities."

Agrium is issuing earnings guidance of $1.00 to $1.10 diluted earnings per share for the first half of 2005, compared to the $0.62 diluted earnings per share earned in the first half of 2004.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

- Our Retail operations achieved increases in net sales and gross profit for fertilizers, crop protection chemicals, seed and services over the previous year. As anticipated, North American spring fertilizer demand is very strong. First half fungicide sales are expected to be higher in California as a result of high moisture conditions, as well as in the Midwest with increased preventative applications on soybeans.

- Our urea sales volumes and margins were higher compared to the same period last year. First quarter ammonia margins were lower as a result of higher natural gas costs and proportionately lower sales into higher margin markets. Margins for all other nitrogen products increased over the same period last year. Benchmark nitrogen prices continued to move higher in the second quarter and U.S. ammonia and urea prices are currently 55 percent higher than this time last year.

- Our overall average natural gas cost for the first quarter of 2005 was $4.19/MMBtu, versus a cost of $3.94/MMBtu in the first quarter of 2004. A $0.63/MMBtu increase in the NYMEX gas cost was partially offset by the widening of the AECO basis from $0.68/MMBtu in the first quarter of 2004 to $0.90/MMBtu in the first quarter of 2005. Our Kenai, Alaska nitrogen facility operated at 58 percent of capacity in the first quarter. We expect to be able to operate the Kenai facility at 85 percent of capacity from April 1, 2005 through to October 31, 2005, an increase over previous estimates, with the majority of the gas to be supplied by Unocal at contract rates.

- We are investing approximately $40-million to expand our ESN(R) and Duration CR(R) coating capacity at our Carseland, Alberta nitrogen facility by 150,000 tonnes per year, as a critical step in our goal of world scale production and marketing of ESN(R).

- Our average potash prices were 36 percent higher than the first quarter of 2004 and accounted for over 20 percent of total gross profit this quarter. We will be expanding our annual potash capacity by 310,000 tonnes bringing our total potash capacity to over two million tonnes. The $65-million capital cost for the potash expansion includes the cost of increasing storage and compaction capacity. The higher compaction capacity will increase our production of premium granular grade potash over standard potash. The premium granular market is a rapidly growing market and commands a price premium over standard potash.

- We generated $125-million in cash from operating activities in the first quarter, bringing our total cash position at the end of the first quarter to $326-million. We have announced plans to buyback up to 10 percent of our shares through a normal course issuer bid. In February, we redeemed all $175-million of our eight percent preferred securities for cash, eliminating their potentially dilutive impact on earnings.

    MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

    May 4, 2005

The following interim Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) updates our annual MD&A included in our 2004 Annual Report to Shareholders, to which readers are referred. No update is provided where an item is not material or there has been no material change from the discussion in our annual MD&A.

    OVERVIEW OF CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

    Net Earnings

Agrium's first quarter consolidated net earnings were $24-million, or $0.18 diluted earnings per share. This is an increase of $13-million over net earnings of $11-million, or $0.08 diluted earnings per share, as restated, for the first quarter of 2004. Net earnings and earnings per share for periods prior to January 1, 2005 have been restated to reflect changes to Canadian generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) requiring Agrium's preferred securities to be classified as debt rather than equity. This new treatment results in preferred securities charges being charged against our net earnings as interest expense including associated foreign exchange and income tax impacts. Net earnings for the first quarter of 2004, as previously reported, were $12-million ($0.07 diluted earnings per share). The total decrease in retained earnings from the retroactive application of this change in accounting policy was $6-million.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were $52-million for the first quarter of 2005, an improvement of $21-million over EBIT of $31-million for the first quarter of 2004.

The growth in 2005 first quarter net earnings and EBIT compared to 2004 is predominantly due to results from our North America Wholesale business, which continues to benefit from tight supply and demand fundamentals, primarily for urea and potash in both our international and domestic markets.

Cash Provided by Operating Activities

First quarter operating activities of 2005 provided cash of $125-million compared to $102-million for the same quarter of 2004. The majority of the $23-million increase is due to the increase in 2005 first quarter net earnings.

Financial Position

Quarter ended cash balances of $326-million reflect both our strong opening position and first quarter cash provided by operations, offset in part by the $175-million cash outlay used to redeem our eight percent preferred securities on February 14, 2005.

Consolidated accounts receivable and inventories have increased by $69-million and $52-million respectively compared to the same quarter last year. In addition to a general increase in our trade receivables from higher sales volumes and prices, receivables in our Retail operation increased by approximately $14-million from the acquisition of 18 South American retail centres. The majority of the change in inventory was in our Retail operation, and reflects increased costs, as well as higher fungicide and seed volumes in anticipation of a strong spring season. The remaining increase in inventory relates largely to increased volumes of ammonia in our Wholesale businesses.

Other liabilities are up $62-million compared to the prior year, largely due to accruals made in the fourth quarter of 2004 related to the planned closure of our Kenai, Alaska nitrogen facility in November 2005.

    Business Segment Performance

    Retail

- First quarter gross profit in our Retail segment of $51-million, was up $4-million from gross profit of $47-million reported in the first quarter of 2004. This increase relates primarily to increased fertilizer prices and higher fungicide sales volumes.

North America Wholesale

- North America Wholesale EBIT for the first quarter of 2005 was $68-million, an increase of $32-million over 2004 first quarter EBIT of $36-million.

- First quarter gross profit of $109-million improved upon the $82-million of gross profit reported for the first quarter of 2004 by $27-million. The most significant contributor to the growth was our potash operations with a $16-million increase in gross profit over the first quarter last year reflecting strong demand and a continued tight supply/demand balance. Nitrogen contributed $11-million toward North America Wholesale's overall gross profit increase. Urea sales volumes were up 67 percent over the first quarter of 2004 due to earlier spring sales caused by the tight urea supply situation in this spring of 2005. Gross profit from ammonia sales declined from the first quarter of last year due to decreased international sales prices and volumes. Overall, domestic nitrogen gross margins were impacted by increased North America gas costs, resulting in higher production costs compared to the first quarter of 2004.

- Expenses for North America Wholesale were down by $5-million in the first quarter of 2005 compared to the same period of 2004 primarily due to the 2004 settlement of litigation related to our Kenai facility and the resulting elimination of legal expense and earn-out obligations in 2005.

South America Wholesale

- South America Wholesale EBIT and gross profit were $9-million and $14-million respectively for the first quarter of 2005. Performance was relatively unchanged compared to the first quarter of 2004. Increased gross margin from higher urea prices that were consistent with increased international reference prices, were offset by lower ammonia sales volumes compared to the same quarter last year.

Other

- EBIT for our Other non-operating business segment for the first quarter of 2005 was down $12-million from the same period last year. The most significant items causing this decrease in EBIT included the recognition of deferred issuance cost on redemption of our eight percent preferred securities in the first quarter of 2005, costs related to exploration of business development opportunities, and increased inter-segment eliminations.

SELECTED QUARTERLY INFORMATION

(Unaudited, in millions of U.S. dollars, except per share
 information)

               2005           2004 (Note 1)        2003 (Note 1)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Q1     Q4     Q3     Q2     Q1     Q4     Q3     Q2
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Net sales       537    720    672  1,011    435    637    561    929
Gross Profit    171    254    231    283    142    204    172    252
Net earnings
 (loss)          24     98     83     74     11   (113)    22     65
Earnings
 (loss)
  per share
  - basic      0.18   0.75   0.63   0.56   0.08  (0.90)  0.17   0.52
  - diluted    0.18   0.71   0.60   0.52   0.08  (0.90)  0.17   0.47

Note 1: Net earnings (loss) and earnings (loss) per share have been
        restated to reflect the adoption of new Canadian accounting
        standards that required preferred securities to be classified
        as liabilities, and preferred securities charges classified
        as interest expense.

The fertilizer business is seasonal in nature. Consequently, quarter-to-quarter results are not directly comparable.

NON-GAAP MEASURES

In the discussion of our performance for the quarter, in addition to the primary measures of earnings and earnings per share, we make reference to EBIT (earnings before interest expense and income taxes) and EBITDA (earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and asset impairment). We consider EBIT and EBITDA to be useful measures of performance because income tax jurisdictions and business segments are not synonymous, and we believe that allocation of income tax charges distorts the comparability of historical performance for the different business segments. Similarly, financing and related interest charges cannot be allocated to all business segments on a basis that is meaningful for comparison with other companies. EBIT and EBITDA measures are also used extensively in the covenants relating to our financing arrangements.

EBIT and EBITDA are not recognized measures under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and our method of calculation may not be comparable to other companies. EBIT should therefore not be used as an alternative to net earnings (loss) determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of our performance. Similarly, EBITDA should not be used as an alternative to cash provided by (used in) operating activities as determined in accordance with GAAP.

KEY RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

We anticipate strong demand for our North American wholesale and retail products this spring as a result of a shortened fall application season and above average 2004 North American crop yields. U.S. corn acres are expected to increase in 2005 while soybean acres are forecast to decline, which should be positive for nutrient use. Improved spring moisture conditions in Western Canada should offset a slight reduction in forecasted planted acreage. Lower crop prices in 2005 could have some impact on nutrient growth rates in countries such as Brazil. However, global grain stocks remain well below historical levels and another large crop will be required in 2005 to keep pace with the growing demand for grain and oilseed products.

The nitrogen market outlook remains positive throughout the first half of 2005 due to strong global demand and limited supplies from several export regions. An anticipated reduction in Chinese urea exports in 2005 due to changes in Chinese government policy should provide additional support to international urea markets. The key risks to the nitrogen outlook over the next year remain the uncertainty around China's export policies and trade volumes, and the global demand growth rate. In North America, the combination of below average nitrogen producer inventories and reduced offshore urea imports has resulted in a tight supply situation entering the spring application season. High global energy prices, including high North American and European natural gas prices, will continue to impact producer costs and have the potential to influence global nitrogen prices.

Potash market fundamentals remain strong supported by significant growth in offshore potash demand. North American potash producer inventories at the end of March were well below historical averages. The market for phosphate products has remained relatively stable throughout the first quarter of 2005 in spite of a rise in U.S. producer inventory levels. U.S. phosphate exports continue to lag behind last years pace, however higher than expected exports to India and Argentina and increased domestic sales should support the market throughout the second quarter of 2005.

OTHER

Agrium Inc. is a leading global producer and marketer of agricultural nutrients and industrial products and a major retail supplier of agricultural products and services in both North and South America. Agrium produces and markets three primary groups of nutrients: nitrogen, phosphate and potash as well as controlled release fertilizers and micronutrients. Agrium's strategy is to grow through incremental expansion of its existing operations and acquisitions as well as the development, commercialization and marketing of new products and international opportunities.

Agrium to buy back shares through a Normal Course Issuer Bid

Agrium has received approval for a Normal Course Issuer Bid from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Under the Bid, Agrium may purchase for cancellation up to 13,244,520 of its common shares, representing approximately 10 percent of the public float. Purchases under the Bid may commence on May 3, 2005 and may be made until May 2, 2006. Purchases will be made on the open market through the facilities of the TSX in accordance with its policies. The price to be paid will be the market price at the time of acquisition. Agrium believes that the purchase of its common shares through the Bid represents an opportunity to return value to its shareholders. Shareholders may obtain a copy of the Notice of Intention related to the Bid, without charge, by contacting Investor Relations at Agrium.

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including those referred to in the management discussion and analysis section of the Corporation's most recent annual report to shareholders, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, weather conditions, the future supply, demand, price level and volatility of natural gas, future prices of nitrogen, phosphate and potash, the differential pricing of natural gas in various markets, the future gas prices and availability at Kenai, the exchange rates for U.S., Canadian, Argentine, and Chilean currencies, South American government policy, South American domestic fertilizer consumption, China's urea trade policies and volumes, future fertilizer inventory levels, future nitrogen, potassium and phosphate consumption in North America, future crop prices, future levels of nitrogen imports into North America and future additional fertilizer capacity and operating rates. Agrium disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information as a result of new information or future events.

A WEBSITE SIMULCAST of the 2005 First Quarter Conference Call will be available in a listen-only mode beginning Wednesday, May 4th at 9:00 a.m. MT (11:00 a.m. ET). Please visit the following website: www.agrium.com

AGRIUM INC.
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Retained Earnings
(Millions of U.S. dollars, except per share information)
(Unaudited)

                                                   Three months ended
                                                        March 31,
                                                   ------------------
                                                    2005        2004
                                                   ------------------
                                                            Restated
                                                             (note 2)
Sales                                              $ 576       $ 464
Direct freight                                        39          29
                                                   ------------------
Net sales                                            537         435
Cost of product                                      366         293
                                                   ------------------
Gross profit                                         171         142
                                                   ------------------
Expenses (income)
 Selling, general and administrative                  71          66
 Depreciation and amortization                        38          38
 Royalties and other taxes                            10           6
 Other expenses                                        -           1
                                                   ------------------
                                                     119         111
                                                   ------------------

Earnings before interest expense and income taxes     52          31
 Interest on long-term debt                           14          17
                                                   ------------------
Earnings before income taxes                          38          14
                                                   ------------------
 Current income taxes                                 11           5
 Future income taxes (reduction)                       3          (2)
                                                   ------------------
 Income taxes                                         14           3
                                                   ------------------
Net earnings                                          24          11
 Retained earnings - beginning of period             398         145
 Change in accounting policy (note 2)                 (6)         (4)
                                                   ------------------
Retained earnings - end of period                  $ 416       $ 152
                                                   ------------------
                                                   ------------------

Earnings per share (note 6)
 Basic                                             $0.18       $0.08
 Diluted                                           $0.18       $0.08

AGRIUM INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Millions of U.S. dollars)
(Unaudited)

                                                   Three months ended
                                                        March 31,
                                                   ------------------
                                                    2005        2004
                                                   ------------------
                                                            Restated
Operating                                                    (note 2)
Net earnings                                       $  24       $  11
Items not affecting cash
 Depreciation and amortization                        38          38
 Gain on disposal of assets and investments            -          (1)
 Future income taxes                                   3          (2)
 Foreign exchange                                     (3)         (7)
 Other                                                 9           3
Net change in non-cash working capital                54          60
                                                   ------------------
Cash provided by operating activities                125         102
                                                   ------------------

Investing
 Capital expenditures                                (21)        (14)
 Increase in other assets                             (8)         (1)
 Proceeds from disposal of assets and investments      1           1
 Net change in non-cash working capital              (11)          -
 Other                                                 -           2
                                                   ------------------
Cash used in investing activities                    (39)        (12)
                                                   ------------------

Financing
 Common shares                                         9           2
 Preferred securities redemption                    (175)          -
 Long-term debt repayment                            (12)        (83)
 Common share dividends paid                          (7)         (7)
                                                   ------------------
Cash used in financing activities                   (185)        (88)
                                                   ------------------

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents     (99)          2
Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of period      425         200
                                                   ------------------
Cash and cash equivalents - end of period          $ 326       $ 202
                                                   ------------------
                                                   ------------------

AGRIUM INC.
Consolidated Balance Sheet
(Millions of U.S. dollars)
(Unaudited)

                                              As at            As at
                                            March 31,        Dec. 31,
                                  ----------------------- -----------
                                        2005        2004        2004
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                                Restated    Restated
ASSETS                                           (note 2)    (note 2)
Current assets
 Cash and cash equivalents            $  326      $  202      $  425
 Accounts receivable                     357         288         388
 Inventories                             605         553         447
 Prepaid expenses                         62          68          56
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                       1,350       1,111       1,316
Property, plant and equipment          1,220       1,227       1,239
Other assets                              83          78          82
Future income tax assets                  24           -          24
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                      $2,677      $2,416      $2,661
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities
 Accounts payable and accrued
  liabilities                         $  640      $  605      $  472
 Current portion of long-term debt        49          46          60
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                         689         651         532
Long-term debt
 Recourse debt                           471         502         471
 Non-recourse debt                        69         104          69
 Preferred securities (note 2, 3)          -         175         175
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                         540         781         715
Other liabilities                        259         197         257
Future income tax liabilities            212         134         209
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                       1,700       1,763       1,713
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------

Shareholders' equity
Share capital
 Authorized: unlimited common shares
 Issued: common shares: 2005 - 133
  million (2004 - 131 million)           562         543         553
Contributed surplus                        2           1           2
Retained earnings                        416         152         392
Cumulative translation adjustment         (3)        (43)          1
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                         977         653         948
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                      $2,677      $2,416      $2,661
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------
                                  ----------- ----------- -----------

AGRIUM INC.
Summarized Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
For the three months ended March 31, 2005
(Millions of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)

1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The Corporation's accounting policies are in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in Canada and are consistent with those outlined in the annual audited financial statements except where stated below. These interim consolidated financial statements do not include all disclosures normally provided in annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Corporation's audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2004. In management's opinion, the interim consolidated financial statements include all adjustments necessary to present fairly such information.

Certain comparative figures have been reclassified to conform to the current year's presentation.

2. CHANGE IN ACCOUNTING POLICY

Effective January 1, 2005, the Corporation adopted the revised Canadian accounting standards for disclosure and presentation of financial instruments. The amendment requires obligations that must or could be settled with a variable number of the entity's own equity instruments to be classified as liabilities. Consequently, the Corporation reclassified from equity to liabilities its eight percent preferred securities, redeemed February 14, 2005 and its six percent preferred securities, converted to common shares in January 2004. This change was applied retroactively with restatement of prior periods. The effect of the adoption on prior periods and the cumulative impact of retroactive restatement as at the date of adoption are presented below as increases (decreases):

                                                As at          As at
                                             March 31,   December 31,
                                            -------------------------
                                                 2004           2004
                                            -------------------------
Balance Sheet
 Other assets                                   $   5          $   5
 Long-term debt                                   175            175
 Future income tax liabilities                      5              8
 Preferred securities                            (172)          (172)
 Retained earnings                                 (3)            (6)

                                                   Three months ended
                                                        March 31,
                                                   ------------------
                                                                2004
                                                   ------------------
Income Statement
 Interest on long-term debt                                    $   4
 Future income tax expense                                        (3)

Earnings per share
 Net earnings available for basic
  earnings per share                                               1
 Denominator for diluted earnings per share
  (millions of shares)                                            12
 Basic and diluted earnings per share                           0.01

3. PREFERRED SECURITIES

On February 14, 2005, the Corporation redeemed the $175-million, eight percent redeemable preferred securities for cash. The redemption price was equal to the principal amount of the securities plus accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption.

In January 2004, pursuant to the Corporation's plan to redeem the six percent preferred securities, all holders of the convertible, redeemable preferred securities elected to convert the securities into common shares at the stated conversion price of $11.9677 per share, resulting in the issuance of an additional 4.18 million common shares.

4. EMPLOYEE FUTURE BENEFITS

The total net employee future benefits expense for the Corporation's pension and post-retirement benefit plans are computed as follows:

                                                   Three months ended
                                                        March 31,
                                                   ------------------
                                                    2005        2004
                                                   ------------------
Defined benefit pension plans                      $   2       $   2
Post-retirement benefit plans                          2           2
Defined contribution pension plans                     5           5
                                                   ------------------
Total expense                                      $   9       $   9
                                                   ------------------
                                                   ------------------

5. STOCK BASED COMPENSATION

The Corporation began prospectively expensing the fair value of stock options granted in 2003 over their vesting period. In accordance with the prospective method of adoption, the Corporation has recorded no compensation expense for stock options granted prior to January 1, 2003 and will continue to provide pro forma disclosure of the effect on net earnings and earnings per share had the fair value been expensed. The following table summarizes the pro forma disclosure for stock options granted prior to 2003 that have not been expensed.

                               Three months ended March 31,
                    -------------------------------------------------
                               2005                    2004
                    ------------------------ ------------------------
                     As Reported  Pro forma   As Reported  Pro forma
                    ------------------------ ------------------------
                                                 Restated   Restated
                                                  (note 2)   (note 2)
Net earnings               $  24      $  24         $  11      $  10
Earnings per share
 Basic                     $0.18      $0.18         $0.08      $0.08
 Diluted                   $0.18      $0.18         $0.08      $0.08

6. EARNINGS PER SHARE

The following table summarizes the computation of net earnings per
share:

                                                   Three months ended
                                                        March 31,
                                                   ------------------
                                                    2005        2004
                                                   ------------------
                                                            Restated
                                                             (note 2)
Numerator:
 Net earnings and numerator for basic and
 diluted earnings per share                        $  24       $  11
                                                   ------------------

Denominator:
 Weighted average denominator for basic earnings
  per share                                          132         130
                                                   ------------------

 Dilutive instruments:
  Stock options (a)                                    1           -
  Preferred securities converted to common shares
   $175-million, eight percent (note 2) (a)            -          12
                                                   ------------------
  Denominator for diluted earnings per share         133         142
                                                   ------------------
                                                   ------------------

Basic earnings per share                           $0.18       $0.08
Diluted earnings per share                         $0.18       $0.08

(a) For diluted earnings per share, these dilutive instruments are
    added back only when the impact of the instrument is dilutive to
    basic earnings per share.

There were 133 million common shares outstanding at March 31, 2005 (2004 - 131 million). The average common shares outstanding during the first quarter of 2005 and 2004 were 132 million and 130 million respectively. As at March 31, 2005, the Corporation has outstanding approximately eight-million (2004 - 10 million) options and options with tandem stock appreciation rights to acquire common shares.

7. SEASONALITY

The fertilizer business is seasonal in nature. Sales are concentrated in the spring and fall planting seasons while produced inventories are accumulated throughout the year. Cash collections generally occur after the planting seasons in North and South America.

8. SEGMENTED INFORMATION

The Corporation's primary activity is the production and wholesale marketing of nitrogen, potash and phosphate and the retail sales of fertilizers, chemicals and other agricultural inputs and services. The Corporation operates principally in Canada, the United States and South America.

Net sales between segments are accounted for at prices, which approximate fair market value and are eliminated on consolidation. The reportable segment entitled "Other" includes Corporate functions and inter-segment eliminations.

9. SUBSEQUENT EVENT

On April 28, 2005, the Corporation announced approval of a normal course issuer bid to repurchase up to 13 million of its common shares (approximately 10 percent of the Corporation's issued and outstanding common shares). Shares may be repurchased for cancellation on the open market between May 3, 2005 and May 2, 2006 at the Corporation's discretion and funded from existing cash.

Schedule 1

AGRIUM INC.
Segmentation
(Unaudited - millions of U.S. dollars)

                                  Three Months Ended March 31
                -----------------------------------------------------
                                                  Wholesale
                                    ---------------------------------
                        Retail         North America   South America
                -----------------------------------------------------
                     2005    2004      2005     2004   2005     2004
                -----------------------------------------------------
                         Restated           Restated        Restated
                          (note 2)           (note 2)        (note 2)

Net sales
 - external         $ 179   $ 155     $ 340    $ 260  $  18    $  20
 - inter-segment        -       -        28       16      1        1
                -----------------------------------------------------
Total net sales       179     155       368      276     19       21
Cost of product       128     108       259      194      5        7
                -----------------------------------------------------
Gross profit           51      47       109       82     14       14
Gross profit %         28%     30%       30%      30%    74%      67%
                -----------------------------------------------------
                -----------------------------------------------------

Selling Expenses    $  51   $  48     $   4    $   4  $   -    $   -

EBITDA (1)          $   1   $  (1)    $  97    $  65  $  13    $  13

EBIT (2)            $  (3)  $  (5)    $  68    $  36  $   9    $  10

                                  Three Months Ended March 31
                -----------------------------------------------------
                                   Other                   Total
                -----------------------------------------------------
                              2005       2004        2005       2004
                -----------------------------------------------------
                                     Restated               Restated
                                      (note 2)               (note 2)

Net sales
 - external                  $   -      $   -       $ 537      $ 435
 - inter-segment               (29)       (17)          -          -
                -----------------------------------------------------
Total net sales                (29)       (17)        537        435
Cost of product                (26)       (16)        366        293
                -----------------------------------------------------
Gross profit                    (3)        (1)        171        142
Gross profit %                  10%         6%         32%        33%
                -----------------------------------------------------
                -----------------------------------------------------

Selling Expenses             $  (1)     $   -       $  54      $  52

EBITDA (1)                   $ (21)     $  (8)      $  90      $  69

EBIT (2)                     $ (22)     $ (10)      $  52      $  31

(1) Earnings (loss) before interest expense, income taxes,
    depreciation, amortization and asset impairment.
(2) Earnings (loss) before interest expense and income taxes.

Schedule 2

AGRIUM INC.
Product Lines
Three Months Ended March 31
(Unaudited - millions of U.S. dollars)

                                          2005
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Sales     Selling
                       Net    Gross   Tonnes       Price      Margin
                     Sales   Profit   (000's)   ($/Tonne)   ($/Tonne)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
North America
 Wholesale
 Nitrogen (1)
  Ammonia            $  74    $  11      273       $ 271          40
  Urea                 127       37      502         253          74
  Nitrate,
   Sulphate
   and Other            63       14      297         212          47
---------------------------------------------------------------------
  Total
   Nitrogen            264       62    1,072         246          58
 Phosphate              46       11      158         291          70
 Potash (2)             58       36      401         145          90
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                       368      109    1,631         226          67

South America
 Wholesale (1)          19       14       85         224         165

Retail (3)
 Fertilizers            92       22
 Chemicals              66       22
 Other                  21        7
------------------------------------
                       179       51

Other
 inter-segment
 eliminations          (29)      (3)
------------------------------------
Total                $ 537    $ 171
------------------------------------

                                  2004 (Restated (note 2))
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Sales     Selling
                       Net    Gross   Tonnes       Price      Margin
                     Sales   Profit   (000's)   ($/Tonne)   ($/Tonne)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
North America
 Wholesale
 Nitrogen (1)
  Ammonia            $  74    $  23      282       $ 262          82
  Urea                  65       17      300         217          57
  Nitrate,
   Sulphate
   and Other            47       11      241         195          46
---------------------------------------------------------------------
  Total
   Nitrogen            186       51      823         226          62
 Phosphate              43       11      166         259          66
 Potash (2)             47       20      440         107          45
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                       276       82    1,429         193          57

South America
 Wholesale (1)          21       14      104         202         135

Retail (3)
 Fertilizers            74       19
 Chemicals              57       20
 Other                  24        8
------------------------------------
                       155       47

Other
 inter-segment
 eliminations          (17)      (1)
------------------------------------

Total                $ 435    $ 142
------------------------------------

(1) International nitrogen sales were 278,000 tonnes
    (2004 - 319,000); net sales were $55-million (2004 - $67-million)
    and gross profit was $27-million (2004 - $32-million).
(2) International potash sales were 230,000 tonnes
    (2004 - 158,000); net sales were $27-million (2004 - $12-million)
    and gross profit was $18-million (2004 - $6-million).
(3) International Retail net sales were $13-million
    (2004 - $10-million) and gross profit was $1-million
    (2004 - $2-million).

AGRIUM INC. (NYSE:AGU) (TSX:AGU)

    CONTACT: Agrium Inc.
             Richard Downey
             Director, Investor Relations
             (403) 225-7357
             OR
             Agrium Inc.
             Christine Gillespie
             Investor Relations Manager
             (403) 225-7437
             Website: www.agrium.com

    SOURCE: AGRIUM INC.