The situation in many Slovak industrial companies is becoming critical due to high energy prices, representatives of Club 500 and the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated at Tuesday’s press conference. The companies are also grappling with the prices of emission allowances and many commodities, for instance, aluminium, copper, and crude oil. Should this trend continue, it will have a substantial impact on Slovakia’s competitiveness, warns Club 500 CEO Tibor Gregor. In his words, the situation with Slovak factories is specific due to a disadvantage arising from electricity and gas costs that were already high before the current price growth. He pointed out that they are high above the EU average. All this forces companies in Slovakia to scale back production.
Meanwhile, one of the leading chemical companies in Slovakia, Duslo Sala, has reduced its production to a technical minimum, and a portion of production has been halted completely, company CEO Petr Blaha has announced. The reason for this action is the recent substantial and sharp increase in the price of natural gas. The company is the biggest natural gas consumer in Slovakia and accounts for 11% of Slovakia’s consumption. Gas is the basic raw material for Duslo from which it produces ammonia, as well as other products. “Certainly nothing good awaits us,” said Blaha about the current situation. In his words, gas prices have gone up by 100% within hours. “We’ve started to generate a brutal loss,” he confirmed, adding that for now they will keep all their employees.
