Ukraine's ally needed a record amount of Russian naphtha for semiconductors

Taiwan, which is an ally of Ukraine, has increased purchases of Russian naphtha, which is used for the production of chemical products for semiconductors, to a record.

In the first half of the year, Taiwanese companies imported 1.9 million tons of naphtha from Russia and became its largest consumers. The companies paid $ 1.3 billion for all cargoes. Such information is published by the Center for Energy and Air Cleanliness (CREA).

The center noted that state-owned companies have abandoned Russian products, but the private Formosa Petrochemical Corp, which is a key supplier of chemical products for the local industry, including the production of semiconductors, has increased purchases.

Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC) has increased the share of Russian naphtha from 9% in 2021 to 90% in the first half of 2025, single-handedly making Taiwan the world's largest buyer of Russian naphtha, CREA writes.

Formosa told The Financial Times that its purchases of naphtha are carried out through open tenders and in compliance with all restrictions.

According to CREA data, Taiwanese companies began to increase purchases of Russian naphtha not this year, but since January 2024, when Russia became the main supplier of the island.

The center complained that Taiwan has allocated only $50 million in aid to Ukraine, while it has purchased $ 11.2 billion worth of naphtha and coal from Russia since 2022.

Taiwan is one of the world's semiconductor manufacturing centers, and many global brands are now dependent on Russian naphtha.

"Excessive dependence on Russian oil products may adversely affect the availability of the necessary materials for semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC, Nvidia, AMD and Intel," CREA reports.

They calculated that in a little more than three years, Western countries, including the EU, the USA and The United Kingdom, received Taiwanese chemical products from Russian naphtha for $ 350 million.