Ukraine's several major chemical industry producers take huge economic damage and may eventually shut down because of the considerably lowered prices for their products, as well as due to the growing imports of sulphuric acid from Russia and Belarus. The list of these companies includes Zorya company (TNT producer), Vostok (uranium concentrate producer) and another two big mineral fertilizer producing companies. Oleksiy Holubov, the President of Ukraine's Union of Chemistry Workers said this as quoted by censor.net news agency.
According to him, the sulphuric acid is the irreplaceable part of the metallurgy, chemistry and agriculture, as well as the enrichment of uranium ore and production of explosives and ammunition.
'The attempts to destroy the domestic producer of acid, to make these branches dependent on the imports - given the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine - are the matters of not only business interests but also the country's defense capability,' Holubov said.
The said companies indicate that in 2014-2017, the sulphuric acid from Russia and Belarus grew more than threefold, reaching the overall volume of 79,000 tons; the Russian side is represented by Sredneuralsky copper-melting plant, Belarus is represented by Gomel chemical plant and Naftana plant, Holubov said. He added that the prices for Russian and Belarusian products are twice lower than those for the Ukraine-made products. 'This doesn't let the Ukrainian companies compete with Russians and Belarusians in equal condition, keeping the production in a proper state. That may lead to a complete shutdown and economic losses at the rate of 4.1 million U.S. dollars annually', Holubov stressed.
The official concluded by noting that the companies turned to the Ministry of Trade and the Economic Development of Ukraine, asking for protection against the unfair competitiveness.
