EURASIANET: AZERBAIJAN: BEYOND ENERGY EXPORTS, THE GLOBAL DOWNTURN IS BATTERING LOCAL INDUSTRY (eurasianet.org)

A EurasiaNet Photo Story: Text by Shahin Abbasov; Photos by Rena Effendi

The global downturn is punishing Azerbaijan’s third largest city, Sumgayit, a onetime center for the Soviet military-industrial complex that is still struggling to find its stride in the global economy.

Sumgayit’s industrial base has been ravaged by the combined effects of sharply lower energy prices and the contraction of credit. Factory employees, who asked not to be named, told EurasiaNet that all five of the state-owned chemical company Azerkimya’s plants and the state-owned Azerboru pipe factory in the city stopped production in early March. Another industrial giant, Azeraluminum, which produces 70 percent of Sumgayit’s annual industrial output, is working at just 15 percent of its usual capacity, producing only 25 tons of primary aluminum per month.

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