Russian tech carbon conquers India

The sanctions imposed by the EU on the import of technical carbon from Russia and Belarus have affected the profitability of Indian producers of this raw material for the tire industry, noted in PCBL Chemical Ltd. According to the company's financial director, Rajeev Gupta, as quoted by ERJ, Russian companies are now supplying technical carbon mainly to Asian markets, which "affects our profitability".

"Since they are no longer working with their usual customers, it means they are selling products at a discount to other consumers, which negatively affects profitability in the industry," he said, adding that large tire companies are not buying Russian technical carbon, as this may lead to "certain sanctions".

Gupta added that the growth of Russian imports has affected PCBL's supplies, especially to small-sized companies. According to him, India imports around 100,000 tons of technical carbon per year, and now 30% of this volume comes from Russian producers.

"On average, they sell 1.5-2 thousand tons per month... and we are forced to deal with the consequences of this," Gupta said.

At the same time, sanctions can also open up new opportunities for PCBL, for example, in Europe. "It was difficult for us to access these customers for many years, and then this crisis in Eastern Europe happened, and now they all want to buy from us," Gupta noted, adding that "when connections are established, they become long-term".

Restrictions on the import of technical carbon from Russia were introduced in the European Union on July 1, 2024. Supplies were not completely stopped, but a quota of 752.5 thousand tons was established.

PCBL Chemical (part of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group holding) was founded over 60 years ago and is now the largest Indian producer of technical carbon with capacities of around 790 thousand tons of products per year.