DUSHANBE, November 15, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Mr. Slawomir Strzalkowski, First Counselor, Poland’s Embassy in Tashkent, Head of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan Department, told a press conference in Dushanbe on November 14 that two large Poland’s companies are seeking cooperation with Tajikistan Aluminum Company (TALCO).

According to him, top managers of one of those companies met with senior representatives of TALCO in Dushanbe on November 14 and representatives of another company have met with TALCO top managers today.

“The demand for aluminum is high in Poland and Polish companies have decided to purchase aluminum from Tajikistan,” Polish diplomat noted.

It is to be noted that production at Tajikistan’s state-owned aluminum smelter has reportedly fallen 3.9 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the first six months of 2012.  Tajikistan Aluminum Company (TALCO) has produced 144,661 tons of the metal in January-June this year versus 150,467 tons in the same period 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.

The smelter''s production is crucial to the economy of Tajikistan.  The metal accounted for 45.1 percent of Tajikistan''s export revenues in the first quarter of 2012.