ArcelorMittal Kazakh unit sees lower 2008 output

ALMATY, Oct 1 (Reuters) - The Kazakh unit of steel giant ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS) expects its 2008 output to fall by more than 30 percent due to shrinking global demand, it said on Wednesday.

ArcelorMittal Temirtau, which exports most of its steel to China and Russia, is Kazakhstan's biggest steel producer and operates a plant with annual capacity of six million tonnes, as well as 15 coal production facilities.

"Production has not been suspended but we are talking about cutting it somewhat," said the company's Kazakhstan spokesman, Nikolai Kubrakov.

He said output could fall by more than 25-30 percent this year but gave no figures.

The company had originally said it would raise crude steel output at its Kazakh subsidiary by 13 percent to 4.610 million tonnes this year. It later cut the forecast to at least 3.8 million tonnes. (Reporting by Tatiana Seroshtanova; Writing by Maria Golovnina, editing by Anthony Barker)