Alex Gurov provides an insight into the current state of the Byelorussian paint market and a review of the main material producers of the Republic of Belarus

The Republic of Belarus is located in the central part of Europe and borders with Russia on the east and north, Lithuania and Latvia on the north and north-west, Poland on the west and Ukraine on the south. The Republic of Belarus is ranked 13th among the European countries for its territory and fifth among the CIS for its population size after Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Paint materials production

According to the Belarus Ministry of the statistics and the analysis (which from August 2008 was renamed in National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus) national total paint production in the last three years was at the level about 80-92,000t/year. In the first half of 2009 a fall in the total industrial production in Republic was observed. According to the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus the paintwork materials production in Belarus for January-July 2009 was 6.1 times lower compared with the same period in 2008.   

The structure of the Byelorussian annual paint and varnish materials production by main types of products is as follows:

Varnishes, enamels, primers and spackling on condensation resin - 45%; Varnishes, enamels, primers and spackling on polymerisation resin - 12%; Water-dispersed paints -22 %; Solvents and washing-off, oil paints, drying oil etc - 21%.

According to the National Statistical Committee about half of the total domestic volume manufactured by the enterprises of Grodno region (more than 40,000t), behind it are Minsk and Minsk region (totally 35,000t) and the Brest area (about 10,000t).

Main Belarus producers

According to different sources, in Byelorussia there are betwen 50 to 100 companies manufacturing coating materials, not state-owned. Except for the three largest national producers  – Lakokraska (Lida), Minsky paint and varnish factory (Minsk) and private company MAV (Dzerzhinsk), only five other companies produce over 500t/year.

The most well-known Belarus coatings materials manufacturer is JSC Lakokraska (www.lidalkm.by). 

Lakokraska located in the town of Lida (Grodno region), is affiliated to the Belneftechim, the biggest business concern of the Republic of Belarus. The paint and varnish factory went into operation in 1965 and holds the Republican leadership status in manufacturing paint-and-lacquer materials designed for various sectors. The Enterprise’s basic activity is the production and sale of paint-and- lacquer materials, polyvinyl acetate dispersion, phthalic anhydride and plasticisers.

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