Glass production in Russia

2022: Production decline by 15% to 228m  sqm 

In 2022, 228 million square meters of glass were manufactured in Russia, which is 15% less than a year earlier. The decline came after 11.6 percent market growth in 2021. This is evidenced by data from BusinesStat analysts, released in August 2023.

According to experts, glass production in the Russian Federation has decreased due to weakening demand in both domestic and foreign markets. In the domestic market, the main decline in demand for glass was due to a drop in sales of double-glazed windows in the secondary housing segment, which was influenced by the uncertainty of the population's expectations regarding the future economic situation due to the anti-Russian sanctions imposed. Demand for glass from the domestic automotive industry, which was hit hard by the departure of major global players, also fell significantly. At the same time, an increase in sales due to active housing construction, which peaked in 2022, was kept from an even greater drop in demand for glass in the domestic market.

Russian glass production is also largely dependent on demand in foreign markets. So, over the past five years, more than 20% of the products produced were exported annually, according to a study published in August 2023. The minimum value of the share of exports in production - 16.5% - was noted just in 2022.

A significant share of Russian production is occupied by factories owned by large foreign glass brands. Among them, analysts distinguish AGC Glass Group, Pilkington, Guardian, Trakya Glass, Fuyao Glass. In 2022, AGC Glass Group stopped investing in Russian business, and also reduced the supply of its products, NSG Group (Pilkington) suspended commercial operations in Russia, the Guardian announced its departure from the country, the activities of Trakya Glass and Fuyao Glass remained unchanged.^[1]

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