MOSCOW-South Korean trading firm Hyundai Corp. has signed an annual contract to buy $20 million worth of butyl rubber from the Nizhnekamsk rubber plant.
The material is destined for customers in South Korea, according to a spokeswoman in Hyundai's Moscow office said.
Butyl rubber is used almost exclusively to make inner tubes for tires.
The more expensive halogenated variants-bromobutyl and chlorobutyl-are used in inner liners for tubeless tires.
The deal represents a volume of at least 12,000 metric tons per year.
According to International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers' data, the Nizhnekamsk plant has the capacity to produce 50,000 tons of butyl and 460,000 tons of polyisoprene rubber per year.