“Georgian ferroalloy producers are facing big problems. Most of them stopped production. We do not know when to expect demand restoration   and price rises, we also can’t specify  when the enterprises at a standstill will resume working,” Nugzar Kevlishvili, chairman of the  Ferro Alloys Producers and Manganese Miners Associatio, says.

According to Kevlishvili, the crisis in the industry was mainly caused by a decline  in prices for ferroalloys on the global market.

“Price started declining last March, if earlier one  ton of ferroalloys cost $2,400, now it costs only $1,200. Apart from  global challenges, the situation has also deteriorated due to the increase in electricity prices that made production unprofitable,” Nugzar Kevlishvili notes.

He adds that the country had 20 companies that produced ferroalloys, more than half of them have stopped operating, the rest have cut production.

“Ferroalloys are mostly exported, only 2-3% are sold domestically, as only few Georgian companies need the product,” the chairman of the Ferroalloys Association points out.

The main markets for Georgian ferroalloys are the USA and Turkey demand for Georgian products in these countries  is high due to their high quality.