By Eugene Gerden
Contributor


The Covid-19 pandemic in Russia has resulted in a significant growth in the demand for nonwovens in Russia and products made from it, according to recent statements made by representatives of some leading Russian nonwovens producers and industry analysts.

According to Andrew Razbrodin, head of the Russian Association of Textile and Light Industry Producers (Souyzlegprom), the growth of the number of patients with Covid-19 contributes to the increase of the demand for anti-epidemiological means of protection, such as medical masks.

Razbrodin adds, citing the latest data of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the production of nonwovens-based medical masks in Russia in recent weeks has reached almost 2.5 million units daily, which became a historical record for the country since the collapse of the USSR.

According to Souyzlegprom analysts, the biggest growth of production is currently observed in the case of nonwoven spunbond – meltblown – spunbond (SMS) material, which makes final products more efficient, compared to traditional medical masks made of cotton fabrics. In addition, due to their anti-viral and other protective properties, these materials are currently used in the production of protective suits and other similar products.

Among the ever growing demand for these materials in the domestic market, many Russian leading nonwovens producers currently consider the possibility for the increase of their output this year and re-orienting their capacities on the production of nonwovens for medical needs.

Prior to the pandemic, a significant part of nonwovens for medical needs had been supplied to Russia from abroad, however, thanks to a significant increase of domestic production, Russia will be able to completely reduce its import dependence in this market segment already by the end of the current year.

In addition to production increases, the level of quality of nonwovens produced in Russia has also significantly increased since the beginning of the current year. The same plans are for raw materials, which are used in the production of nonwovens in Russia.

So far, up to 80% of them have been imported to Russia from abroad, primarily China and Turkey (as Russia has traditionally experienced the lack of its own production), while the largest import dependence was traditionally observed in the case of polyester fibers.

While the Russian government, together with some private investors in recent years, has made serious attempts to establish domestic production of various materials and components for nonwovens production, most of these initiatives have never been implemented.

According to recent statements of some senior officials of the Russian federal government, in recent months the development of nonwovens production has become one of the priorities for the state.

This is also reflected by the recent decision of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade to include the Kotovsky Nonwovens plant, one of the leading nonwovens producers in the country in the list of enterprises that conducts emergency production capacities in Russia. Granting of such status provides an opportunity to the enterprise to claim for additional benefits from the state.

There is a possibility that the Kotovsky plant may not be the only nonwovens producer in Russia, while the same is considered for other leading local producers, which in recent weeks have re-organized their capacities for the production of nonwovens for medical needs.

Attracting Foreign Investment
The government of Russia plans to take additional measures for the attraction of some leading nonwovens producers from the U.S. and other Western countries to establish their production facilities within Russia, as well as to provide support to companies, which already operate their business in Russia, according to recent statements of an official spokesman of the Russian Presidential Administration and some local media reports.

he planned support will be in the form of various benefits, that will be provided to both the U.S. and other foreign nonwovens businesses operating in the Russian market, which was significantly hit by the pandemic and associated with this economic recession in Russia.

According to data of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the financial crisis in Russia this year has already led to a significant decline of sales of nonwovens and products, made from it, in the local market and resulted in serious losses of producers.

In accordance with the official state statistics, for the period of January-May, sales of nonwovens and certain technical textile items in Russia fell by at least 35% on year-on-year basis.