In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, revealed on January 31 that Tajikistan plans to increase production of primary aluminum by 40 percent this year.
“We plan to increase the volume of aluminum production to 179,000 tons this year,” the minister said.
“Of course, it will depend on prices and demand for aluminum. If demand for aluminum increases, it will be possible to increase aluminum production,” Hikmatullozoda noted.
According to him, the downward trend in aluminum production that has been observed in recent years has resulted from decline in demand for aluminum in Ukraine, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan that are among trading partner for Tajik aluminum.
Unstable world prices for primarily aluminum have also led to decrease in production of aluminum in Tajikistan, Hikmatullozoda noted.
“The price for one ton of primary aluminum fell from 1,654 U.S. dollars in 2015 to 1,605 U.S. dollars in 2016,” the minister added.
Hikmatullozoda noted that Tajikistan produced 129,300 tons of primary aluminum last year, which was 7.2 percent less than in 2015 (in 2015, Tajikistan produced 139,100 tons of primary aluminum).
The Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) initially planned to produce 158,000 of aluminum last year. But at the beginning of the second half of 2016, the company management noted that it would decrease production of primary aluminum.
TALCO noted in September last year that speed fall in the international aluminum prices that began in July 2013 has resulted in 80 percent of world’s aluminum producers operating without getting profit and most of them are incurring losses. In connection with the considerable fall in the international aluminum prices the company’s crisis management has proposed to consider the possibility of reducing the aluminum production volumes for the purpose of minimizing financial losses.
In November 2015, the government granted the company licenses to develop two gold deposits in the northern Sughd province, Konchoch and Chulobi. Usage rights over the deposits will extend to 25 years.
In 2016, the major trading partners to Tajikistan’s primary were Turkey, Taiwan, the Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan.
The Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) is one of the ten largest aluminum smelters in the world and provides up to 70% of the country’s foreign currency earnings, consuming 40% of the country’s electrical power. TALCO is wholly owned by the Tajik government. Tajikistan does not mine alumina but imports the raw material through tolling arrangements.
Construction of the Tajik aluminum plant (TadAZ) began in 1972, and the first pouring of aluminum took place on March 31, 1975. On April 3, 2007, TadAZ was officially renamed to TALCO – Tajik Aluminum Company. The Tajik aluminum smelter had the capacity to produce 517,000 metric tons per year.
