Chemical industry new driver of Russian economy – minister

The chemical industry has significantly grown and contributed to the Russian economy in 2023, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Friday.

Speaking at the ‘Russia’ expo at Moscow’s VDNKH complex, the minister highlighted stable growth in consumption of chemical industry products across various sectors of the economy.

“At the end of the current year, we expect consumption to amount to 8.3 trillion rubles ($93 billion), marking an increase of 11.5% compared to the previous year,” Manturov said, adding that more Russian companies have been launching production on the basis of their own technologies and inventions, something that “clearly strengthens technological sovereignty in the chemical complex and in domestic industry as a whole.”

He noted that overall investments into chemical companies in 2023 totaled 100.4 billion rubles, almost twice the levels recorded in 2020, while state support for the sector amounted to nearly 30 billion rubles.

According to Manturov, the most impressive increases in production volumes have been seen in the polymer processing, polymer products, dyes, pigments and mineral fertilizer industries.

Earlier in the month, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated that the Russian economy, contrary to the expectations of the EU, continued to grow, while he said the European bloc faced serious economic challenges due to the sanctions it placed on Russia. Medvedev, who now holds the position of deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, also said that the country’s GDP increased by 5.5% in annual terms in the third quarter of the current year, after 7.8% growth in the previous quarter.

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