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The domestic textile industry began to produce much less fabrics. In Russia there is linen and wool, but not what acrylic, lavsan, microfiber and fleece are made of. Difficulties are expected with cotton - Uzbekistan is going to develop its own production. MASHNEWS figured out what to do with it.

Fall statistics

The production of finished fabrics in 2022 decreased by almost 4.3 times compared to 2021: from 7.88 billion sq. m to 1.85 billion. This is the data of Rosstat.

This segment has never been a strong point of the domestic light industry, but after the imposition of sanctions last year, the production of fabrics collapsed sharply.

In 2023, textile workers won back this fall a little: in January-May, 817 million square meters were produced. m against 744 million for the same five months of 2022. However, compared to 2021, this is very little. In January-May 2021, more than 3.28 billion square meters were produced. m "finished fabrics", i.e. the production of fabrics this year is four times less than in the days "before the NWO".

In fairness, it must be said that the reduction in output did not occur in all types of products. Everything is more or less good with cotton. The volume of cotton fabrics has not changed much in recent years:

• in 2022, 836.83 million sq. m,

• in 2021 — 857.84 million,

• in 2020 — 854.4 million,

• in 2019 — 818.1 million.

But last year, textile workers produced 22.3% less linen fabrics, 3.2 times less mixed fabrics with a mass fraction of synthetic threads, and 4.6 times less fabrics impregnated with polymer compositions.

The production of some types of products showed growth, and it is even clear why:

• tent and raincoat fabrics (plus 48.2%),

• fabrics from synthetic staple fibers (plus 45%).

The reasons for this collapse are not unique to the Russian economy: the sanctions imposed on Russia disrupted the supply of raw materials, chemical ingredients and equipment.

"A significant role was also played by the threat or the imposition of "secondary" sanctions by the West against countries and companies cooperating with the Russian Federation and in the light industry. The quality of supplies can hardly be called "pre-sanctioned", especially because since 2022 "parallel" imports have been allowed in the Russian Federation, and it is growing. And these are deliveries with a low level of quality control, compliance of accompanying documentation with the actual quality and composition of products, and with an optional determination of the country of origin of products," Igor Ulyanov, executive director of the Soyuzlegprom association, told MASHNEWS.

The industry is critically dependent on imports. Even cotton production is constantly under pressure from raw material suppliers: Uzbekistan, which did not join the sanctions, where Russia bought cotton, is developing its own weaving and clothing industry, so since 2020 it has stopped exporting raw cotton and sells only yarn to us.

As a result, the production of cotton yarn in the Russian Federation is declining year by year: in 2022, it was produced 23% less than in 2021. From 2025, the Uzbek authorities intend to stop the export of yarn, BusinesStat analysts warn.

Polyester (a hydrocarbon processing product) is not produced in Russia, from which fibers are made for the production of polyester, acrylic, lavsan, microfiber, rayon polyester, fleece and many other fabrics.

“This is the number one raw material, the need for the production of which in the territory of the Russian Federation has been talked about for 20 years in my memory. But we only have secondary processing, spinning from imported raw materials,” admits Oleg Kashcheev, chairman of the Committee for Innovative and Creative Development of the Textile and Light Industry , fashion industry" of the Moscow Confederation of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

Numerous additives necessary for the production of fabrics, also largely foreign-made, notes Alla Petrachenkova, a leading specialist at Traverse Research and Production Company.

“Fixers, levelers that are used to dye fabrics, silicones that give fabrics softness, volume, and hydrophilicity are imported. Our manufacturers cannot replace all of them yet,” she says.

The complexity of substitution is associated with the nuances of the recipe: if the silicone, for example, does not have the composition that is required, then, along with softness, it will endow the fabric with water-repellent properties. And this is not always good.

“We can get very soft towels, but liquid will roll off them, and no one will want to wipe themselves with them,” Alla Petrachenkova explains. 

Too Сoarse Wool

Russia mainly provides itself with flax and wool, but due to the tricks of the state support mechanism, it does not receive raw materials of the required quality.

For example, the value of grown fiber flax lies in the length of the fibers. If sown frequently, it will stretch upwards and the fibers will be long. Sparsely sown flax is distributed in breadth, and the fibers are short. Farmers are given subsidies not for the quality of the grown flax, but for the sown area. Therefore, it is more profitable for them to borrow more land for sowing in order to get more money.

The situation is similar with wool: the breeding of fine-fleeced sheep is subsidized in the same way as breeds with coarse wool. As a result, more coarse wool is produced, making up 58.1% of all wool fabrics, although fine wool is more marginal.

“If the government allocated subsidies in a differentiated way, then agricultural producers would focus on the raw materials that textile workers need,” Oleg Kashcheev is sure. 

There is No One to Spin the Fibers 

For some positions, domestic producers managed to find a replacement for imported ingredients thanks to Russian developments.

For example, the company "Traverse" produced the drug "Phoborit R", which is used to impart water, dirt, oil-repellent properties to fabrics. For its production, only imported raw materials were used, which were imported from Germany. "Travers" has developed an analogue of the drug - "Phoborit R cloth", it is made on the basis of domestic ingredients.

So far, such replacements concern only individual components of textile production. It is much more difficult to replace imported polyester, says Aleksey Silakov, Doctor of Economics, Vice-Rector for Research at the Russian State University. A.N. Kosygin.

To meet the needs of Russia in polyester staple fiber, it is necessary to create a production facility with a capacity of 0.5 million tons per year. Tatneft and Sibur studied the prospects of this project, said Alexey Silakov. For spinning threads from this fiber, about a hundred enterprises with a capacity of 5 thousand tons per year are needed. 

"But today we have practically no spinning, there are 30 thousand tons of our own spinning per year ― these are two enterprises: Shuisky Calico and Volgatex. And then for the technologies they use, polyester is not very well suited," says Alexey Silakov.

He notes that so far there is only one investment project in the light industry to create a spinning production — a factory with a capacity of 3 thousand tons per year, which is being built by Nordtex holding in the Ivanovo special economic zone "Springs".

Without ensuring the demand for raw materials, the production of polyester fiber will be economically unprofitable, explains Silakov, which means that new spinning enterprises will have to be completely created.

Together with the polyester project, this will require about 4 billion rubles, he estimated. 

It's Time to Change the Machines 

The problem is also to provide spinners and weavers with equipment. It is 90% imported in the light industry. Now only 24% of the equipment in the light industry can be called new — it is less than ten years old, Anna Sbitneva, director of projects at Sberbank's Corporate Business Development Department, cites data.

The age of 37% of the equipment is from 11 to 20 years, and 39% of the equipment is older, it needs to be changed, she says.

Until February last year, textile workers preferred to equip enterprises with the help of Western companies. For example, the Untex Springs factory for the production of knitted fabrics, which opened in the Ivanovo region in the summer of 2022, managed to purchase machines in the USA, Italy, Austria and Turkey before the sanctions. It is ready to produce up to 20 thousand tons of fabric per year, as a result, Russia's dependence on imports of knitwear will decrease by 4% (from 80% to 76%).

Anna Sbitneva claims that 67% of the equipment needs can be met by domestic enterprises at the expense of "friendly countries". For example, China. However, the existing Western machines also need to be serviced. 

Subsidies for Light Industry Have Been Cut

A comprehensive state program is needed for the development of the textile industry, Igor Ulyanov believes. Now there are many measures that could support domestic fabric manufacturers. For example, they are not protected from dumping imports, which reduces the investment attractiveness of projects in the light industry. Because of this, the share of imports in the fabric market remains at a high level — about 60%.

The main suppliers are China, Turkey, India, Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh.

"We mainly import wool, silk, wool blend and synthetic fabrics. The domestic production of cotton, blended (linen + cotton; cotton + synthetics), fabrics for workwear in Russia is much better developed," notes Igor Ulyanov.

So far, light industry is not among the priorities in the Russian Federation. According to the head of the Department of state policy in the field of light industry of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Ivan Stepanov, this year the volume of subsidies to industry enterprises will amount to only 1.84 billion rubles. This is 16.4% less than last year (then they received 2.2 billion in aid).

For comparison: the Russian Government is going to allocate 1 trillion rubles for the development of drones.

So for now, there is no reason to expect a breakthrough in the light industry.

Source: https://mashnews.ru/tkachi-sokrashhayut-proizvodstvo.-sankczii-dobralis-do-tkanej.html