Page 159 - RusRPTMar23

y/y and stood at 885,000 metric tonnes. The output of polymer-based paints and varnishes added 9.8% this January and totaled 88,400 metric tonnes. Production of tires, cases and rubber bags fell by 42.3% y/y to 2.7mn units.
Russia’s chemical industry is expected to see a decline in output of 4-5% by the end of 2022, according to RosStat, Ria Ratings reports. However, production is expected to recover somewhat in 2023 due to a low base effect.
The decline in production in large chemicals (excluding pharmaceuticals) was 3.2% for the first nine months of the year, with the smaller-scale more specialist chemicals, that are more dependent on imports, being hardest hit.
The chemical industry has been a strong performer in Russia for over a decade, with the last negative trend recorded in 2009. However, in 2022, the industry's production saw a worse performance than the wider industry as a whole for the first time in many years.
The worst result for nine months was obtained in the production of soap and detergents, cleaners and polishes; perfumery and cosmetics: a decline of 12.3%. One of the reasons for this result is the exit from the Russian market of the German company Henkel, which has 11 plants for the production of household chemicals.
The decrease in production in the main chemical sub-sector, which includes the production of basic chemicals, fertilisers and nitrogen compounds, plastics and synthetic rubber in primary forms, amounted to almost 5% over the nine months. The strongest decline in this sub-sector was of potash fertilisers. There was also a drop in the production of all types of large-capacity plastics.
The decline in production can be attributed to supply chain disruptions, which have caused difficulties with the export of chemical products. Many companies have reported a significant drop in exports to the west and have had to redirect supplies to the east, leading to increased transport costs.
9.2 Major corporate news 9.2.1 Oil & gas corporate news
● Gazprom
● Rosneft
Russian state oil company Rosneft plans to increase hydrocarbon production by about 5% by the end of 2023, the growth in 2022 was 3%,
159 RUSSIA Country Report March 2023 www.intellinews.com