About how entrepreneurs outstrips raw materials producers in exports dynamics

A growth of supplies of goods and services abroad due to non-power sector has been noted in Tatarstan

According to the ministry of economy, the exports of small and medium-sized businesses have increased by almost a billion dollars. The republic brought to the foreign market more than half of the companies planned for 2019 and took the leading position in the Volga Region in the development of exports of goods and services in the small and medium-sized businesses. Read more in the material of Realnoe Vremya.

Non-power exports have entered into competition with commodities one

Tatarstan retains the leading position in the Volga Federal District for export. First and foremost and traditionally through the enterprises such as Ammonia, Mendeleevskazot, Tatagrokhimservis, Kazan Synthetic Rubber Plant, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, KAMAZ. For 4 months of 2019, compared to the same period in 2018, nitrogen exports has increased by $36 million, and synthetic rubber exports — by $15 million. Positive dynamics was shown by polystyrene (by $5,9 million), trucks (by $5,4 million) and special purpose vehicles (by $7,5 million). Thanks to the development of small and medium-sized businesses, non-resource non-power exports of the republic increased significantly compared to the same period last year — to $960 million.

Russia has repeatedly noted that particularly the sector of small and medium-sized businesses has the greatest potential for the growth of non-resource non-power exports. For this reason, the government places special emphasis on more efficient use of the export potential of the regions and the active involvement of small and medium-sized businesses in the development of foreign markets.

“Growth factors” of the “little ones”

At a presidium meeting of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and National Projects, the ministry of economic development presented the results of the analysis of exports of small and medium-sized businesses in the first half of 2019. The experts assessed the number of exporters in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the volume of non-oil exports, as well as “growth factors”, “factors of infrastructure availability” and “additional factors”, including, for example, the cost of electricity. According to the assessment of the federal authorities on the development of foreign markets by small and medium-sized enterprises, Tatarstan has become the leader among the regions of the Volga Federal District and continues to hold the first place in terms of exports to the Volga Region.

According to the press service of the ministry of economy of the Republic of Tatarstan, in the first half of the year the implementation of the plan in the country by the number of small and medium-sized businesses, whose products were exported, amounted to 106%. Forty-eight enterprises out of 90 planned for 2019 have already entered the foreign market. Export-oriented companies supply products for engineering, medicine, construction and agricultural industries in the UAE, USA, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Hungary, India, Poland, Mexico.

According to experts of the ministry of economy of the Republic of Tatarstan, one of the reasons for this growth is the inclusion of exports in one of the priorities of the Russian economy. The main objective of the national project International Cooperation and Export is to increase the volume of exports of non-raw non-energy goods to $250 billion by 2024. Within the framework of the national project “Small and medium entrepreneurship and support of individual entrepreneurship initiative”, the republic aims to bring 407 small and medium-sized businesses to foreign markets by 2024.

To create favourable conditions for entrepreneurs and achieve targets in the development of export activities, this year Tatarstan has introduced the Regional Export Standard, which was developed by the Russian Export Centre, using the available international experience. The standard contains a set of measures for the development of exports and is being implemented in a pilot mode in 11 regions of the country. It is assumed that on the basis of regional practice, the document will be edited and implemented in all regions of Russia from 2020.

This year, the republic has taken a number of steps to stimulate exports — representatives of small and medium-sized businesses will take part in 13 international exhibitions and fairs in the near and far abroad. Recently, the training programme for entrepreneurs Export Accelerator has been launched. Heads of enterprises find foreign partners and expand markets for their products, including through the support of the Entrepreneurship Fund of the Republic of Tatarstan. According to the ministry, the fund trains entrepreneurs in foreign economic activity free of charge, translates contracts and presentation materials of companies into foreign languages, co-finances bringing products in accordance with the requirements of international certification necessary for the export of goods.

Support for exporters

The republic has the prerequisites for further export growth, according to the ministry of economy, in particular, due to the growth of the number of entrepreneurs. According to the results of the first half of the national project, their number increased by 4,400 people. A base of 400 export-oriented small and medium-sized businesses with export potential has been created in Tatarstan. The main sectors on which the government of the Republic of Tatarstan focuses are engineering, agriculture, tourism services. This year, export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises will receive support for 155 million rubles, including 58,6 million from the federal budget.

“Export for each enterprise is a difficult and very important step,” Minister of Economy of Tatarstan Farid Abdulganiev comments on the positive results of the last six months. “But making such decision, the businessman has to understand that he can ask the state for support and this support has to be complex and real.”

The experience of Tatarstan can be extended to other subjects of the Russian Federation. The federal government plans to lay the monitoring data as a basis for further formation of regional export development projects.

By Ekaterina Ablaeva
Tatarstan