India supplied 30.5% of the carbon black the European Union imported from outside the bloc in 2025, up from 0.6% in 2021, according to Eurostat trade data for CN 2803. Russia, which shipped 74.2% of those imports in 2021, shipped nothing after the EU's import ban took full effect on 1 July 2024, and India, China, Egypt and Ukraine now supply 78.1% of the volume between them.
The replacement was not one for one. Extra-EU carbon black imports fell 48.6%, from 748,598 tonnes in 2021 to 385,107 tonnes in 2025, while the EU's imports of finished car tires rose 36.9% over the same years. For tire makers and compounders in Europe, the supply map for a core reinforcing filler has been redrawn in four years, and the data for January to August 2026 show it is still moving.
Russia went from three-quarters of EU carbon black imports to zero by July 2024
Before 2022, the EU's external carbon black supply was close to a single-source arrangement. Russia shipped 529,625 tonnes in 2019 and 555,674 tonnes in 2021, a share of 74.6% and 74.2% of extra-EU imports. Ukraine was a distant second at 7.5% in 2021, and Egypt third at 6.0%. India and China together accounted for about 9,000 tonnes.
The Council's 10th sanctions package, adopted on 25 February 2023 as Regulation (EU) 2023/427, put carbon black on the list of banned Russian goods. It did not cut supply overnight. Article 3i allowed imports of up to 752,475 tonnes of CN 2803 goods until 30 June 2024, and the Commission's announcement of the package put the combined bans on synthetic rubber, carbon blacks and bitumen at almost EUR 1.3 billion of annual imports.
Buyers used far less than the quota. Russian shipments fell to 239,474 tonnes in 2023 (47.5% share) and 114,813 tonnes in 2024 (24.8%), a combined 354,287 tonnes over the two years. Monthly data show the run-off: 30,374 tonnes in May 2024, 17,968 tonnes in June, and zero from July onward. The 2022 share of 55.1% shows that many buyers began diversifying a full year before the legal ban, once the risk of sanctions became obvious.
India grew 25-fold to become the EU's largest outside supplier
India's carbon black shipments to the EU rose from 4,643 tonnes in 2021 to 31,334 tonnes in 2022, 37,893 tonnes in 2023, 72,668 tonnes in 2024 and 117,331 tonnes in 2025. That is 25 times the 2021 level. China moved first, jumping to 132,199 tonnes and a 17.0% share in 2022, then settled back to 79,501 tonnes (20.6%) in 2025. Egypt rose from 45,254 tonnes to 55,380 tonnes, and its share more than doubled to 14.4%. Ukraine kept shipping through the war, at 48,647 tonnes in 2025.
Belarus is a smaller footnote with the same lesson. Its shipments climbed to 28,181 tonnes in 2024 and then fell to zero in 2025. Any buyer that treated Belarus as a workaround for Russian supply had to requalify again.
| Supplier | 2021 tonnes | 2021 share | 2025 tonnes | 2025 share | 2025 EUR per tonne |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 555,674 | 74.2% | 0 | 0.0% | n/a |
| India | 4,643 | 0.6% | 117,331 | 30.5% | 1,208 |
| China | 4,398 | 0.6% | 79,501 | 20.6% | 1,306 |
| Egypt | 45,254 | 6.0% | 55,380 | 14.4% | 1,645 |
| Ukraine | 56,348 | 7.5% | 48,647 | 12.6% | 1,293 |
| United States | 22,867 | 3.1% | 16,156 | 4.2% | 3,618 |
| All extra-EU | 748,598 | 100% | 385,107 | 100% | 1,538 |
Source: Eurostat Comext DS-045409, CN 2803, EU27 imports from outside the EU. Unit values are customs value divided by net mass.
The price column matters as much as the volume column. Russian carbon black entered the EU at an average of EUR 804 per tonne in 2021. Indian material came in at EUR 1,208 per tonne in 2025 and Chinese at EUR 1,306. The US figure of EUR 3,618 per tonne reflects a specialty mix, not rubber grades. Across all outside suppliers, the average customs value rose from EUR 949 per tonne in 2021 to EUR 1,538 in 2025, an increase of 62%. Part of that is feedstock oil and freight, but part is the loss of the cheapest source.
Imports halved while EU car tire imports rose 36.9%
The drop in total volume is the less obvious half of the story. Non-Russian suppliers doubled their EU shipments, from 192,925 tonnes in 2021 to 385,107 tonnes in 2025 (up 99.6%), yet they still filled only about half of the 2021 total. EU exports of carbon black to outside markets fell too, from 278,626 tonnes to 203,756 tonnes, so net imports dropped 61.4%, from 469,972 tonnes to 181,351 tonnes.
The trade data point to where the missing demand went. Extra-EU imports of new passenger car tires (CN 4011 10) rose from 1,072,225 tonnes in 2021 to 1,468,159 tonnes in 2025. A tire made abroad carries its carbon black with it, and that carbon black never appears in CN 2803. Orion, a major rubber carbon black producer, said in its 2025 annual report on Form 10-K that "elevated levels of low value tire imports from Asia during 2025" hurt its demand in core Western markets, and it listed a shift of tire production from the EU to Asia as a risk.
Two forces explain the fall, and the data cannot cleanly separate them. European carbon black plants may have covered part of the Russian gap, and any fall in EU tire output reduces the carbon black needed at all. Figure 3 puts the two trade flows on one index. Net carbon black imports stood at 39 in 2025 against 100 in 2021, while car tire imports stood at 137.
The 2026 data show China gaining ground on India
The first eight months of 2026 confirm that the post-Russia mix has not settled. Extra-EU carbon black imports were 269,675 tonnes from January to August 2026, up 5.9% on the 254,687 tonnes of the same period in 2025. India shipped 84,522 tonnes, a 31.3% share and 12.9% more than a year earlier. China shipped 72,848 tonnes, up 39.8%, and its share rose to 27.0%. Egypt held 13.0% and Ukraine 10.6%. Russia stayed at zero.
India's lead now rests on a thinner margin, and the largest Indian producer is reporting pressure. PCBL Chemical's investor update for July to September 2026, filed on 2 November 2026, shows rubber and specialty black sales of 134,180 tonnes, down 17.0% from 161,728 tonnes a year earlier. Tire-grade volume fell from 93,892 tonnes to 77,914 tonnes. International sales were 41,337 tonnes, or 30.8% of the quarter's volume. The company cited trade route disruptions and significantly higher freight costs, and said it now runs a warehouse in Antwerp to serve customers locally. PCBL lists 900,000 tonnes a year of carbon black capacity and targets 1 million tonnes by its 2028 fiscal year.
Put together, the figures describe a market where Indian and Chinese suppliers compete for a smaller EU import pool, freight is a larger share of landed cost, and European stock positions such as the Antwerp warehouse are becoming part of the offer.
What the new supply map means for tire makers, buyers and investors
Tire makers with EU plants. The supplier base for N-series rubber blacks has moved from one dominant source to four mid-sized ones, with India, China and Egypt holding 65.5% of outside supply. That is better for resilience, but each switch required compound requalification, and Belarus showed that a substitute source can disappear within a year. Procurement teams should keep at least two qualified outside origins per key grade, plus a European source.
Raw-material buyers and compounders. The benchmark has reset. The average extra-EU carbon black cost EUR 1,538 per tonne in 2025, against EUR 949 per tonne in 2021, and the cheapest major origin in 2025 (India, EUR 1,208 per tonne) was still 50% above the Russian average of 2021. Contracts indexed to pre-2022 price levels no longer describe the market. Freight and lead time now differ enough by origin that landed cost, not ex-works price, should drive the award.
Distributors and traders. PCBL's Antwerp warehouse points to a role for stock held inside the EU. Buyers who once sourced from nearby Russian plants now face longer sea routes from India and China. A distributor holding several origins near the customer can sell availability as well as tonnes.
OEMs. The 36.9% rise in car tire imports since 2021 means more of the carbon black in European vehicles is now bought by tire factories outside the EU, beyond the reach of EU carbon black trade data and of the EU's import ban. OEMs tracking supply-chain origin for EU rules should ask tire suppliers about carbon black origin as well as natural rubber origin.
Investors. European carbon black producers lost a low-cost Russian competitor, but the demand they hoped to capture partly left the EU inside imported tires. The net import index of 39 and Orion's 10-K warning on Asian tire imports point in the same direction. Indian exporters have won share, yet PCBL's 17.0% volume decline in the latest quarter shows that a higher share of a shrinking market does not guarantee growth.
Readers tracking the commercial side can find our market sizing in the tire carbon black market report. The recovered carbon black market report covers the circular alternative that European tire makers are testing, and the specialty carbon black market report covers the higher-value grades that explain the US unit value.
Methodology and sources
All trade figures use Eurostat's Comext dataset DS-045409 (EU trade since 1988 by HS2-4-6 and CN8), reporter EU (EU27 in its 2020 composition), with partners outside the EU. Carbon black is CN 2803 ("carbon, carbon blacks and other forms of carbon not elsewhere specified"); passenger car tires are CN 4011 10. Tonnes are net mass converted from the dataset's 100 kg unit; shares are by tonnes; unit values are customs value in euros divided by tonnes. Annual data cover 2019-2025 and monthly data cover January-August 2025 and 2026. Net imports are imports minus exports for the same code and partner group. All derived figures were recomputed from the raw series. Unit values blend grades and are not price quotations.
- Eurostat Comext DS-045409, CN 2803 imports by partner (dataset updated 16 October 2026): annual and monthly import tonnes and values by supplier, extra-EU exports, 2019-2026.
- Eurostat Comext DS-045409, CN 4011 10 imports: extra-EU imports of new passenger car tires in tonnes, 2019-2025.
- Council Regulation (EU) 2023/427 of 25 February 2023: Article 3i quota of 752,475 tonnes for CN 2803 until 30 June 2024.
- European Commission press release IP/23/1185, 25 February 2023: scope and value of the import bans on synthetic rubber, carbon blacks and bitumen.
- PCBL Chemical Limited, Investor Update Q2 FY27, BSE filing of 2 November 2026: quarterly sales volumes by segment, domestic and international split, capacity, Antwerp warehouse.
- Orion S.A., Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed 17 February 2026: statements on Asian tire imports and Western rubber carbon black demand.
Frequently Asked Questions
30.5% came from India in 2025, followed by China at 20.6%, Egypt at 14.4% and Ukraine at 12.6%. Russia, at 74.2% in 2021, shipped nothing in 2025.
1 July 2024. Regulation (EU) 2023/427 of 25 February 2023 allowed a quota of 752,475 tonnes of CN 2803 goods until 30 June 2024, and monthly Russian shipments fell to zero from July 2024.
385,107 tonnes in 2025, down 48.6% from 748,598 tonnes in 2021. Net imports, after exports, fell 61.4% to 181,351 tonnes.
62% more per tonne: the average extra-EU customs value rose from EUR 949 in 2021 to EUR 1,538 in 2025. Indian material averaged EUR 1,208 per tonne in 2025, against EUR 804 for Russian material in 2021.
31.3% of extra-EU imports came from India from January to August 2026, but China gained faster, with volumes up 39.8% and its share rising to 27.0%.
99.6% more non-Russian supply, to 385,107 tonnes, was not enough to replace Russia, and over the same years extra-EU car tire imports rose 36.9%, so more of the carbon black in tires sold in Europe now arrives inside finished tires.