MOSCOW (MRC) -- The estimated consumption of polycarbonate (PC) granules for sheet extrusion dropped in January and February by 19% year on year and totalled 15,400 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast report.
The second half of April and May traditionally account for the peak demand for sheets for the greenhouses construction from the agricultural sector. There has been a revival in the market since early 2015, which was, primarily, caused by consumers' expectations of higher prices of both material and products because of the rouble devaluation. Market players said they also see no reason for lower consumer activity in the near future on the back of the gradual strengthening of the rouble.
The reduction of consumption was mainly caused by lower interest in imported PC granules. Thus, imports of sheet extrusion PC to the Russian market slumped by 83% to 1,200 tonnes over the stated period. Production of PC granules was 14,300 tonnes in the first quarter of 2015 versus 12,800 tonnes over the same period last year.
Kazanorgsintez, the only PC producer in the CIS countries, fully focuses its production on the needs of the domestic market now, increasing production of extrusion grade PC and reducing the production of injection moulding PC. The plant operates at full capacity. The plant's representatives said there would be no outage for maintenance until mid-summer. There have been no export shipments since the beginning of the year.
MRC