Tire producers in Russia adapt to new realities, sector is supplied with primary feedstock components - Industry and Trade Ministry

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Russian tire production has fully adapted to conditions resulting from sanctions pressure, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement following a meeting of Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov with representatives of the industry.

"With the assistance of the ministry, most of the deals on the purchase of foreign assets by Russian companies and managers during 2023 were finalized. There was also a reorientation of import supplies of tires and feedstock for their production to friendly countries. All this ensured uninterrupted supply of Russian consumers with all types of products and preservation of jobs at enterprises. In the meeting it was noted that the Russian tire industry has fully adapted to the new realities, and enterprises are ready to increase production capacity for certain tire sizes," the statement said.

The industry has been supplied with all major feedstock components: "All of the demand for synthetic rubbers is covered by Russian companies, while natural rubbers are supplied from friendly countries. Production of other components (vulcanizers, plasticizers, etc.) will also be developed in Russia".

The Industry and Trade Ministry's Department of Chemical Industry has included 40 feedstock components required for tire production in the updated import substitution plan. The volume of state support for R&D in this area in 2023 amounted to 390 million rubles. In addition, tire manufacturers received more than 1 billion rubles more as part of corporate competitiveness enhancement programs (CPPK, which provide access to preferential lending to manufacturers of export-oriented products) and subsidies for product transportation costs when exporting.

Russia has 18 sites for the production of tires of various classes. Domestic and localized foreign manufacturers account for about 60% of domestic consumption. In 2023, market volume amounted to about 76 million tires.