PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2012

EDITOUR REPORTS 9 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 12/12 www.petpla.net Distribution of Packaging in Russia 2011: and energy resources. One quarter of the country lies in Europe, the remaining three quarters in Asia. Some 85% of the population live in European Russia, the remainder in Asia. Its capital, Moscow, is home to 11.5 million people, making it the largest city in Europe. There is a surplus of women, accounted for by an average male life expec- tancy of around 64.5 years, which is largely due to exces- sive consumption of alcohol and cigarettes. The birth rate, although increasing slightly over the past ten years, is not managing to keep pace with the death rate, resulting in a fall in population numbers. The apparently low population density, at 8.2/km², is skewed by the fact that compara- tively few people live in the Asian parts of the country. The recent history of the country is familiar. After the collapse of the former Soviet Union at the end of 1991, democratic reforms were introduced under the then Presi- dent, Boris Yeltsin, and parts of the Russian economy were privatised. This had unforeseen consequences: the col- lapse of large sections of industry, inflation, increased pov- erty, and company bankruptcies. The election of President Putin in 2000 led to a return to economic stability and the way was opened up for new investments. Geographically, the Ural Mountains, which rise to a height of 2,000m, broadly divide the European and the Asian parts of the country. Russia is divided up into 83 “federal subjects”. This includes 21 autonomous repub- lics, 46 regions (“oblasts“), nine regions together with four autonomous districts, one autonomous oblast and two federal cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. The country has over 150 ethnic groups, speaking more than 100 lan- guages but Russian, spoken by around 80% of the popula- tion, is the official language. Individual republics have the right to use their own languages as well as Russian. The climate of the country is principally continental which means heat waves in summer, biting cold (up to minus 50°C) in winter. A challenging climate, therefore, for both men and materials. In mineral and energy resources, Russia is No. 1 for crude oil, with more than 12% of the world’s reserves. In 2011 the country produced 511 million tonnes of crude, second only to Saudi Arabia. Russia has around 50% of the known reserves of coal, although the industry has suf- fered since the demise of the Soviet Union. Chemicals are an important sector accounting for 6% of the economy and it plays an important role both in the manufacture of plastics and associated technological developments. A number of important machinery and plant manufacturers have established themselves, chiefly in the area between Moscow and the Urals. In 2011 GDP amounted to around US$1884 bn, a threefold increase since 2004. Germany, with plant and machinery, is Russia’s biggest supplier, and Russia returns the compliment by supplying Germany with the bulk of its crude oil requirements. In 2011 the volume of trade between the two countries amounted to €75 bn. (Sources: Wikipedia) Macro-economic data Population: 143,1 million. Population growth: 0.01% p.a. Gross domestic product: US$1884 billion Rate of growth in GDP 2011: +4.3% GDP per capita** 2011: approx. US$13,089 Import/Export in USD**: 2010: approx.US $217.42 billion / approx.US $373.69 billion 2011: no data available National debt 2011: 9.6% of GDP Unemployment 2011: 6.5% Inflation 2011: 8.44% (Sources: World Bank/IMF) **current dollar rate (Source: Canadean) Other 0.4% Board 24% Glass 6.3% Metal 4.6% PET 64.8% Packaging split for soft drinks in 2011 Glass 25% Metal 29% PET 46% Packaging split for beer in 2011