Russian companies' investments in plastics, rubber processing falls 30% in 2024 to $542 mln - Plastinfo

MOSCOW. May 19 (Interfax) - Russian companies' investments in plastics and rubber processing equipment amounted to $541.7 million (43.5 billion rubles, data excludes taxes and duties) in 2024, down 29.6% compared to the previous year, according to a review from the Plastinfo agency based on Federal Customs Service data obtained by Interfax.

The total weight of imported equipment reached 54,100 tonnes, down 15.6% from 2023.

"The significant reduction in plastics processing investments stems from several factors. These include not only the high base effect from 2023 following pent-up demand in 2022, but also decreased demand across many segments, the continuous weakening of the ruble throughout the year, and prohibitive borrowing costs amid key rate increases from 16% to 21%," Plastinfo said.

Shipments of equipment from China declined only 3% in 2024 to $386 million, raising China's share of total investments to 71.2% (versus 51.6% in 2023). Italy's share dropped from 12% to 5%, while Germany's decreased from 10% to 3%.

"By equipment type, imports of extruders, extrusion lines and systems totaled $144.6 million for the year, down 37.3% from 2023. Shipments of injection molding machines fell 28.4% to $124.3 million, while blow molding equipment dropped 41.4% to $35.8 million," Plastinfo said.

The import data covers all polymer and rubber processing equipment, post-processing machinery for finished products or semi-finished goods, as well as peripheral equipment, spare parts and components, excluding tooling and equipment imported for primary raw material production.