Imported bearings only account for 6% of the Russian market

The main foreign suppliers in the Russian ball bearing market are: German Schaeffler Group (its brands are INA and FAG bearings) and GMN Company, Sweden SKF Bearing Company, French SNR Company, Japan Seiko Corporation (NSK Bearing), Koyo Corporation ( KOYO), Fujiyoshi Corporation (NACHI) and Dongsheng Corporation (NIPPONTHOMPSON). Since foreign brand products cannot meet the technical needs of Russian users, imported bearings only account for 6% of the Russian bearing market. It is expected that with the acceleration of the modernization of Russian enterprises and the increase of cooperation with foreign enterprises, the demand for foreign bearing products in Russia will increase. Bearing products produced by well-known international manufacturers tend to be more expensive and suitable for users/industries with higher requirements. To balance the high prices of their products, these manufacturers put more emphasis on services with added value, such as individual solutions to consumers' engineering needs and strong after-sales services. Although foreign ball bearing products currently account for only 6% of the Russian domestic market (EBC 2006 data), this share is expected to grow as international automakers such as Ford, Toyota, and GM plan to expand their vehicle production in Russia . Some industry experts believe that Japanese ball bearing manufacturer Koyo will build a new factory in Russia after Toyota and Nissan. Since these car manufacturers have already increased their production in Russia and reached an annual output of 200,000 units, international ball bearing manufacturers will certainly actively seek development in the Russian market. At the same time, Russian domestic manufacturers are also seeking cooperation opportunities with international manufacturers. For example, EBC believes that a partnership agreement with Sweden's SKF or Germany's INA, or a joint venture, will give it access to advanced technologies that will improve its ability to produce high-quality products. Joining the World Trade Organization will further increase Russia's bearing imports. For example, Russia currently imposes tariffs of $0.49 to $0.59/kg on cheap ball bearings imported from China, accounting for 30% of its total cost. With the entry into the WTO, these tariffs will be reduced or even eliminated, which will lead to a rapid increase in the import volume of certain products, especially in the mining industry where price is more important than quality. Manufacturers in China, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland, which mainly export low-priced products, are expected to benefit the most.