MOSCOW: Imports of titanium dioxide (TiO2) into Russia dropped by 17% in 2015. Total consumption of titanium dioxide in Russia reached 64,500 tonnes last year, as per MRC DataScope.
The fall in the external supply occurred for the producers from non-CIS countries. At the same time purchases of TiO2 produced by Crimean Titan and SumyKhimprom, on the contrary, increased last year. Imports of SumyKhimprom’s TiO2 rose by 14% to 11,500 tonnes in 2015. Shipments of Crimean TiO2 to Russia grew by 11%, exceeding 15,000 tonnes.
DuPont accounted for the greatest fall in absolute values. The supplier’s shipments decreased by 6,300 tonnes and totalled 10,000 tonnes in 2015.
Imports of Kronos’ TiO2 dropped by 3.5% to 7,900 tonnes.
Finnish producer – Sachtleben Chemie – showed an increase in deliveries among import suppliers. The company shipped 6,500 tonnes of TiO2 into Russia, up by 14% year on year.
Market players attributed the fall of imports to the rouble devaluation. SumyKhimprom and Crimean Titan’s TiO2 is much cheaper for local companies, and their prices are not firmly bound to the exchange rate, which helped to switch to these suppliers.
Last year’s stronger demand for Finnish grades was caused by the fall of the euro against the dollar, which also led to lower prices compared to other TiO2 suppliers.
