On February 28, during the session of the prime-minister Vladimir Groisman with mining and metallurgical complex enterprises ‘Azovstal’ CEO Enver Tskitishvili claimed that undertaking will reduce production to 3.15 million tons, and even more in trade blockade conditions.

According to words of the chairman, Mariupol Iron and Steel Works ‘Azovstal’ from ‘Metinvest’ group was going to grow manufacturing of finished product from 0.8-0.9 mln. tons to 4.2-4.3 mln. Tons, but because of begun Donbass blockade at the of January, it revised it downward – to 3.15 mln. tons.

‘If the situation doesn’t change and we work in the same mode, we can’t even produce 3 mln.’, – Tskitishvili said and added that during current blockade ‘Azovstal’ has lost $3.6 mln. on the rise in price of raw materials.

CEO explained that necessary coke for enterprise needs 8-9 grades of coal, but because of outages of Avdiivka Coke Plant, interrupting of coal supply from ‘Krasnodonugol’ and other enterprises on uncontrolled territories, the combine forced to buy coal and coke in Russia and USA.

‘Coal price, especially, coke raised on 37% per day. The cost of Russian coke exceeds the cost of my iron… Such accidents don’t happen in life: Avdiivka was out for one day, then blockade, and then we come to purchase and price is so high that we can’t buy it’, Enver Tskitishvili described the situation.

The director also reported that in order to avoid losses and additional costs ‘Azovstal’ has suspended the investment program. In addition, foreign specialists are afraid to go to enterprise, communicating only by telephone or using video conference.

‘The investment climate is getting worse and worse’, CEO stated and clarified that because of decrease in production volumes and increased cost of raw materials combine stopped to pay to  external maintenance organizations, taken a part of repairs not more 5-10% of the total volume on themselves.

Otherwise, Enver Tskitishvili accented that blockade threatens to Mariupol local budget, because combine royalties in it are near 200 mln. Hryvnias (~$7.31 mln.) per year and annual payroll of 11.5 thousand. Employees is near 740 – 760 mln. hryvnias (~$27.06 mln. – $27.79 mln.).

‘We must clearly define – where is the law, and where there is no. We ask to recover law’, he resumed.

We would remind that in the middle of the February the leadership of ‘ISD’ corporation has confirmed the stopping of Alchevsk Metallurgical Plant and Avdiivka Coke and also claimed about threat of stopping Dnipro Steel.