MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's production of polycarbonate (PC) totalled 67,300 tonnes last year, up by 9% year on year, according to MRC ScanPlast report.
Thus, production was the only figure in the PC market that showed a positive trend last year, whereas imports, exports and consumption continued to decline. The fact that PC is produced domestically makes it possible for the Russian market to develop. However, in 2015, weaker demand in the market of finished products (sheets, bottles, car parts, electrical engineering) became an obsticle. The state program of the agriculture modernization, as well as the introduction of a new state standard on PC sheets for the construction market, might be a major drive for the market recovery in 2016.
Kazanorgsintez, the only PC producer in the CIS markets, shipped over 64,000 tonnes of its material to the domestic market in 2015, up by 17% year on year. Currently, the plant continues to adhere to the policy of imports substitution in the market.
This year will be significant for the players of the Russian PC granules market. Due to unfavorable economic conditions, "natural selection" will take place and only the most efficient converters will remain. At the same time, there is a considerable risk of a growth of the market share of low-quality products in an attempt to lower its cost.
MRC