Tajikistan, central Asia's biggest producer of primary aluminium, is likely to cut output to just over 270,000 tonnes this year from 277,584 tonnes in 2011, a source close to Tajikistan Aluminium Co's management said on Thursday.
The state-owned aluminium smelter, known as TALCO, reduced output by 0.3 percent year-on-year in January-October to 230,772 tonnes after two consecutive months of growth, said the source, who declined to be named because the output data is not public.
In September, TALCO cut its production forecast for the year by 15 percent to 281,000 tonnes due to a smelter overhaul and a brief stoppage of gas supplies from neighbouring Uzbekistan.
"The official forecast (for 2012) remains the same, but in fact TALCO is set this year to produce just slightly more than 270,000 tonnes," the source told Reuters.
"We probably won't achieve this (earlier) target, because serious problems have emerged due to technological faults in a number of electrolytic pots, which has led to a certain decline in output."
The smelter's output declined by more than a fifth to 277,584 tonnes in 2011.
Tajikistan, the poorest of the 15 former Soviet Union republics, relies heavily on the smelter's earnings. Official data show aluminium accounted for around 57 percent of all Tajik hard currency export revenue in January-October of 2012.
豫公网安备41010502003434号