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Chinese Suppliers Hike Optical Fiber Prices for Russia by 2.5–4x
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Chinese suppliers have sharply raised prices for optical fiber sold to Russian buyers as Russia remains dependent on imports after its only domestic producer halted operations.
This was reported by Militarnyi on February 26.
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Industry sources cited by Vedomosti said Chinese suppliers raised prices for Russian customers by about 2.5 to 4 times from the start of 2026.
Telecoms consultancy ComNews Group’s Leonid Konik said the price in China of widely used G.652D fiber rose from $2.33 per kilometer in early 2025 to $3.60 by the end of the year and reached $5.80 in January 2026.
Analysts and industry figures linked the price increases to surging demand, including the battlefield use of fiber-optic lines to control drones at distances of up to 50 kilometers.
Russia accounted for 10.5% of global optical fiber consumption in 2025, up from less than 1% previously, and purchased nearly 60 million kilometers of fiber last year.
Russian industry representatives linked the sharper sensitivity to Chinese pricing to Russia’s reliance on imports after its sole domestic producer, Optical Fiber Systems in Saransk, stopped operating following drone attacks in spring 2025.
Industry executives also warned that suppliers have moved to requiring full prepayment, and analysts said higher procurement costs are likely to feed into higher prices for Russian telecommunications infrastructure and related services.
Meanwhile, major customers said they were reviewing suppliers and procurement terms in response to what they described as an abrupt rise in Chinese pricing.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian long-range drones hit industrial sites in Russia, including the Saransk facility described as the country’s only fiber-optic cable manufacturer.
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