DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, July 15. The external trade turnover of Tajikistan Aluminum Company (TALCO) amounted to over $113.2 million from January through June 2023, Trend reports.
This figure includes imports worth $48.9 million and exports totaling $64.3 million. Thus, the company achieved a positive trade balance of $15.4 million.
During the same period, the total value of goods produced by the TALCO reached 232.9 million somoni ($21.2 million), while the volume of product sales amounted to 227 million somoni ($20.7 million).
Currently, TALCO is working on boosting its production, which leads to attracting new workers. In the first half of 2023, the company raised wages in over 20 departments, increasing average pay by 10 percent compared to last year.
The plant currently has over 5,000 employees, with almost 2,000 being women. They plan to hire 1,500 more workers, reaching a total of 2,000, as they expand production and invest in the future.
Meanwhile, TALCO produced a total of 31,510 tons of primary aluminum in the first six months of 2023, slightly surpassing last year's figure of 31,449 tons.
The company has plans to achieve a 10-percent increase in production by the end of 2023. Additionally, the company intends to almost quintuple its primary aluminum production over the next three years, aiming for an annual output of 300,000 tons.
TALCO is the largest aluminum production company in Central Asia, established in 2007. Almost all the company's production is exported.
The plant has a designed capacity of 517,000 tons per year. However, since 2007, production has declined from 420,000 tons to 60,000 tons in 2021 and 2022. The company attributed this decrease to worn-out and outdated equipment.