Kazakhstan metallurgical companies look to new sales markets
(Minews) - Iran is a very promising potential sales market for products of Kazakhstan’s mining and metallurgical industry, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported citing Nikolai Radostovets, executive director of the Kazakhstan Association of Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises.
Radostovets told a media briefing yesterday that the Association hopes that Iran will become a more open country after lifting the sanctions. “We are very positive about the developments with regard to the sanctions against Iran. It is not just a large consumer but a consumer located close to us,” he said.
According to Radostovets, since the beginning of this year the Kazakh government has taken unprecedented steps to support the mining and metallurgical sector, in particular by granting discounts for cargo shipment by rail transport. “I think that we would see a new, revised geography of our exports as early as in the second half of this year,” he said.
Radostovets earlier said that metallurgical companies of Kazakhstan have to look to new sales markets for their products in East Asian and Arab countries.
“It is a very hard time for us now. Prices for almost all of our products have significantly lowered. Exports to Russia and China are on the decline. We are currently working on redirecting our products to East Asia and Japan. It is a very difficult task. We have started working more with East Asia, and are now considering Arab countries and Iran,” Radostovets said at the 5th congress of Kazakhstan’s mining and metallurgical industry last November.
“China is importing less. In Russia, sanctions have forced [local] companies to revise their plans. They are re-directing to the domestic market, and we now face a tougher competition. They [Russian producers] have started to sell at lower prices and we are becoming uncompetitive,” Radostovets said.
He also said that Kazakhstan’s metallurgical companies suggested amendments to the Tax Code to encourage metal processing inside Kazakhstan.
Publish date : Tuesday 7 April 2015 20:49
Story Code: 23406
Source : Times of Central Asia
