Dnevnik quoted Mr Politimi Paunova executive director of Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry as saying that the production of ferrous and non ferrous metals in Bulgaria has slumped by around 20% to 30% since the start of 2009 from the same period of 2007.

Preliminary figures of Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry revealed that cast iron output fell almost threefold to 440,300 tonnes.

Mr Paunova said that "With Kremikovtzi Bulgaria’s sole cast iron producer, this should not be a surprise, and things are expected to grow worse this year. The companies’ future in the first half of the year remains unclear. A real positive development could be expected in the fourth quarter at the earliest."

(Sourced from www.dnevnik.com)