Activated carbon

2023: Import of 24.2 thousand tons of activated carbon into Russia

In 2023, approximately 24.2 thousand tons of foreign activated carbon were imported into Russia. The volume of imports practically did not change compared to the previous year, when the figure was 24.3 thousand tons. That is, a decline of 0.6% was recorded, as reported in the materials of BusinesStat, published on March 22, 2024.

Activated carbon is used in many areas - in power, non-ferrous metallurgy, food and pharmaceutical industry, medicine, in the production of personal protective equipment, in public utilities and environmental technologies. This substance, in particular, is used as an adsorbent in the treatment of drinking water, wastewater, gas emissions, for the extraction of metals and various compounds from industrial solutions, as well as as a catalyst carrier.

According to BusinesStat estimates, 16 thousand tons of activated carbon were imported into Russia in 2019. A year later, imports fell by 3.8% to 15.4 thousand tons, and in 2021 they rose by 28.9%, reaching 19.9 thousand tons. In 2022, an increase of another 22.1% followed.

In general, in the period from 2019 to 2023, the import of activated coal into Russia increased by 50.6%. The main suppliers of these products are India, China and the Philippines. In particular, in 2023, shipments from India jumped 52.3% compared to 2022. At the same time, China and the Philippines reduced supplies by 2.4% and 32.3%, respectively. The decline in imports from the Asia-Pacific region is due to a lack of raw materials for local production. In addition, against the background of the formed geopolitical situation, shipments from Europe fell.

Russia, as stated in the study, is not fully provided with raw materials for the production of activated carbon. In 2019-2023, imported products accounted for an average of 61.9%.^[1]

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