While Russia may have gone through the deepest crisis in its economy since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it hasn’t led to the complete suspension of investment activities in the polymers industry.
Through all wider turmoil faced by the country – somewhat mitigated lately by the global hike in oil prices – the industry has defiantly ploughed on by announcing a number of investment projects in recent months.
Probably the biggest of them is in the Leningrad Oblast, one of the industrial centres of Russia, where local firm YamburgPromInvest Plast plans to build a film and plastics sheeting plant with an investment of RUB 5 billion ($61.5m).
The production capacity of the plant is expected to reach 120 million bags per year for form-fill-seal film, and 2.18 million bags per year for stretch hood film. The new facility will create up to 200 new jobs.
The plant will be located in the Ust-Luga Special Economic Zone and is expected to be commissioned by 2027. Most of the output of the plant will be supplied to the domestic market.
Other projects planned
It expected to be not the only major production facility in Russia that will reach its planned capacity in the coming years. So far, a number of other investment projects in the industry has been launched.
In the middle of last year, the Desnogorsk Polymer Plant (DPZ) – another leading Russian polymeric film producer – commissioned a new production line for Russia’s first barrier skin film.
According to the company, the technology, which is used at the new production, creates a ‘second skin’ effect, ensuring hermetic protection, and extending the product’s shelf-life.
The company has high hopes for its new facility, as the demand for finished products is expected to be considerable in the domestic market.
“Skin packaging technology is actively developing, accounting for only 5 per cent of the global film market at present,” Alexander Preferansov, chief executive of DPZ told a local news agency.
“In Russia, the entire market for such packaging is entirely dependent on imports, which creates great potential for the development of domestic production and import substitution.”
State-owned bank loan
A significant part of funds for the project was provided by the state-owned VTB Bank in the form of a loan. The amount of the loan is estimated to be RUB 1.7bn ($20.9m). The plant is designed to produce up to 1,000 tonnes of products per year at the initial stage with the possibility of a further expansion in due course.
DPZ specialises in the production of plastics packaging for the food industry. It produces all types of barrier packaging.
According to analysts’ expectations, the Russian polymer packaging market demonstrated a growth of 1.7 per cent in 2025. For the current year, the growth is predicted to reach 2 per cent.
It is anticipated that e-commerce and prepared food will be the main growth drivers of the market in 2026. Both segments are expected to continue their strong growth until 2028, increasing by 30 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.
