Reuters reported that Tajikistan's state owned aluminium smelter, the largest in former Soviet Central Asia, hopes a resumption of gas supplies from Uzbekistan will allow it to meet its 2012 output target despite a near 12% decline in the first 4 months.

Tajikistan Aluminium Company produced 97,863 tonnes of the metal in January to April 2012 or 11.6% less than in the same 4 months last year. The main reason for the decline was lower monthly production rates in early 2012 as the smelter ramped up output following a modernization program completed toward the end of last year.

Production was also affected in April when neighboring Uzbekistan cut off natural gas supplies for 15 days. Tajikistan signed a deal to resume supplies from April 16 until the end of the year.

TALCO source said that the signing of the contract until the end of the current year gives us hope that we will meet our plans. TALCO is sticking to its plan to produce 332,500 tonnes of primary aluminium this year which would restore production approximately to 2010 levels after 20% decline to 277,584 tonnes in 2011.

The smelter's production is crucial to the economy of Tajikistan, the poorest of 15 former Soviet republics. The metal accounted for 45.1% of Tajikistan's export revenues in the Q1 of 2012.

Source - Reuters

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