Rubber and Plastic Industry in Russia Sees 1.6% Drop in Output for Jan-Apr Period, 4.7% Decline in April Alone

According to data from the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat), rubber and plastic product output in Russia fell by 1.6% year-on-year for January-April 2025. The industrial production index for April 2025 increased by 1.5% compared to the same period in 2024, with the cumulative index for January-April 2025 at 101.2% (a year-on-year increase of 1.2%). Compared to March 2025, the industrial production index fell by 4.2% month-on-month, dropping to 95.8%.

The Russian statistics agency covers the mining industry, processing manufacturing, thermal and electric power generation, as well as the dynamics of production and service provision in the areas of water supply, drainage, waste management, and pollution control when calculating the industrial production index.

The rubber and plastic products sector is showing a significant downward trend: in April 2025, the production volume decreased by 4.7% year-on-year, and the cumulative production from January to April 2025 fell by 1.6% compared to the same period in 2024 (previous data indicated that the production decline in the first quarter of 2025 was 0.3%).

According to the respondents' evaluation, the average capacity utilization rates for the mining industry and the processing manufacturing industry are 60% and 61%, respectively. The following factors affect enterprises' assessment of their current business activities:

In the mining industry, the proportion of respondents expecting an increase in corporate production over the next three months rose from 3.8% to 11.7%.

In the processing and manufacturing industry, the proportion of respondents expecting production growth in the next three months decreased by 2 percentage points to 24.2%. At the same time, the assessment value of finished goods inventory increased by 1 percentage point to 0.5%.

Enterprise managers pointed out that personnel shortages remain one of the main factors hindering the completion of production plans. Negative evaluations were dominant in the mining industry (-24.1%) and processing manufacturing (-18.3%).

Nevertheless, most managers maintain a neutral attitude and show caution regarding the current business situation, demands, and production growth potential.