The global financial crisis didn’t spare the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) market. Almost all market players have appeared in trouble. As a matter of urgency, they have to search for optimal solutions in order to stay afloat in the challenging microeconomic environment.
The reality and outlook for the world and Russian PET markets were addressed at V International Conference “PET 2009” held by Creon CJSC in Moscow on 17 February 2009.
Today, the Russian PET market is characterised by demand significantly outstripping supply, as well as by “hypertrophic” imports attributed to a lack of domestic production capacities. Other trends observed in the market have been triggered off by the global recession, in particular, lower-cost raw materials, decreased consumers’ activity, and fluctuating exchange rates.
According to preliminary estimates, in 2008 Russia produced 190,400 tonnes of PET, up 16.2% in comparison with the previous year. At the same time, PET consumption declined by 6% from 573,000 to 538,400 tonnes.