Artemsil denies Ukraine salt deficit rumors

"I am addressing our consumers in my assurance that there will be no salt shortage in Ukraine. The company's management has done its utmost to maintain the situation under control. To date, we continue to ship our products, which means that consumers have nothing to fear, and one should not give in to any artificially created panic," the press service quoted the company's head Viktoria Lutsenko as saying.

Artemsil's management provided timely payment of wages to almost 3,000 employees. Moreover, the state-run enterprise has fully and in time fulfilled its obligations to the Ukrainian budget, according to the report.

Read alsoUkraine's central bank expects over $2 bln in foreign direct investment in 2017As reported earlier, Artemsil's accounts were arrested on the evening of November 2, which could result in the company shut down. The arrest was carried out as part of the enforcement proceedings related to the recovery of UAH 70.5 million (US$2.6 million) from Artemsil due to breach of contract with Collective Enterprise Pamiat in the period from 2014 to 2015. According to the press service, the contact contradicted the interests of the state, and was concluded with the purpose of creating Artemsil's artificial debt before Pamiat.

Artemsil's management is currently taking measures to prevent write-offs. The company has already sent appeals to the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry, the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor's Office in Donetsk region, National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the Verkhovna Rada's Anti-corruption Committee, and the head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration.

Artemsil produced 1.67 million tonnes of salt in 2016, which was 17% down against 2015. It also posted UAH 93.2 million in net profit in 2016, which was 28.3% down from 2015.

Read alsoWater supply to occupied Luhansk to be halted due to debtsThe major producer of table salt in Central and Eastern Europe, Artemsil was founded in 1881. Its production capacity is estimated at 7 million tonnes per year. The company employs over 3,000 people. Its products are exported to 22 countries, while the company's share in Ukraine's salt market exceeds 90%.