Bosnia’s Aluminium Smelter To Cut 2009 Output by 25%

“Aluminij will cut by 25% its production from January 2009,” the company said in a statement on its website late on Tuesday.

The smelter had a record high output of 121,750 tonnes of metal last year, compared to 121,000 tonnes in 2006. It forecast output of 140,000 tonnes in 2008 after it completed the modernisation of its anode plant in September.

It added that one reason for the revision of the output plan was the "discriminatory treatment" by the power regulator and government of the Muslim-Croat federation.

Aluminij, based in the southern town of Mostar, is Bosnia’s biggest exporter but has been experiencing problems with electricity supply at favourable prices. Aluminij is the sole Bosnian company importing electricity, and those imports cover around 60% of the company's electricity consumption.

The government of Bosnia’s Muslim-Croat Federation, where Aluminij is based, ranked a consortium led by Swiss-registered metals trader Glencore as best bidder to buy 88% of the company, valued at 150.3 million marka ($101 million/73 million euro), at an international tender in December. However, the sale has been delayed mainly over Glencore's requests for regular supplies of cheap electricity.

The Muslim-Croat Federation is one of the two autonomous parts of Bosnia. The other is the Serb Republic.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bosnian marka)