In recent years, demand for synthetic fabrics in Russia has increased significantly. Imports account for around 90 per cent of the local market. Much of the products come from China. In value terms, imports are growing at ten to 12 per cent. The market currently varies in the range of 2,50,000 to 2,70,000 tons a year in volume terms and has big potential for further growth, thanks to its rich raw material base and a well-developed petrochemical industry.

The hope is that in the near future Russia will be capable of replacing up to 50 per cent of imported synthetic fibers with its own production. The raw material base for the establishment of such production exists. All that needs to be done is to add some missing components in these technological chains, which will allow Russia to produce synthetic fibers at a lower cost. Implementation of these plans will provide an opportunity for the launch of large-scale commercial production of innovative fabrics in Russia.

Several years ago, there were plans to build a facility for the production of polyester fibers, as well as other raw materials, which are used in domestic technical textile production. The project was to have the capacity to produce up to 1,75,000 tons of polyester fibers and 30,000 tons of textile PET granulate a year. However the project was dropped.