BEIJING, July 29 -- A huge deposit of potassium, which China desperately needs for agriculture, has been discovered in the northwestern province of Qinghai, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) announced Friday.

More than 156 million tonnes of potassium chloride was found during a preliminary exploration in the western part of the Qaidam Basin, according to the MLR.

More deposits are expected to be discovered, said the ministry.

The MLR called the recovery a "milestone" as China currently imports 70 percent of its potassium.

About 450 million mu (30 million hectares) of farmland in China uses potassium and about 6 million tonnes of potassium fertilizer is imported every year.

Canada, Russia and Belarus own 60 percent of the world's potassium fertilizer resources and production.