MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polystyrene (PS) imports dropped in 2013 by 18.5% and totalled 74,000 tonnes. Lower purchases in foreign markets were registered in the Russian market for the first time during three years, according to MRC Annual Report.
MRC analyst Igor Grishchenko said falling shipments of imported general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) were mostly caused by increased production of polymer at Nizhnekamsneftekhim, as well as the increased output at "Gazprom neftekhim Salavat" and PGProf. At the same time, there was a shortage of high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) in the Russian market in 2013, which local converters compensated by imports.
The overall GPPS imports into Russia fell by 28% last year and totalled about 46,500 tonnes. The construction sector, electronics and packaging were leaders in imports of GPPS grades. These sectors accounted for 40%, 33% and 24%, respectively.
HIPS imports rose by 6% to 27,500 tonnes. The largest consumers of imported HIPS in the country were still producers of electrical engineering. These companies accounted for more than 85% of total HIPS imports last year.
Edistir ICE PDR 830D grade of Polimeri Europa production remained the most popular imported HIPS grade in Russia (8,900 tonnes in 2013). Styrolution's Polystyrol 145D was the most popular grade among the imported GPPS grades (8,500 tonnes in 2013). More detailed statistics on the market balance and the most popular PS grades can be found in MRC ScanPlast.
MRC