4 June 2021
JSC Volga took part in the annual business-forum “Export time”
The business-forum “Export time” dedicated to the development of export and the support of export-oriented activities took place in Nizhny Novgorod on May 26. Representatives of about 300 companies participated in the event, including those from JSC Volga. Deputy General Director – Director for Economics and Finance Sergey Lomakin spoke at the meeting of Export council held under the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, as well as moderated the Plenary session “Main Trends in Export Development in modern realities”.
The governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Andrey Sanosyan, Minister of Industry, Trade and Entrepreneurship of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Maxim Cherkasov, Minister of Agriculture and Food Resources of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Nikolai Denisov, Acting Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Licensing in the Field of Foreign Trade Pavel Bezruchenko, Director of Regional Business Development of JSC "Russian Export Center" Andrey Zaitsev and others took part in the event.
During the business part, the representatives of export support institutions, federal and regional authorities spoke about the main trends in the development of export in modern realities, discussed federal and regional support measures for exporters, summed up the results of the past year, as well as announced plans for the development of export for the upcoming period.
The meeting of Export council held under the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region took place within the forum. During the meeting, Sergey Lomakin thanked the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region for the support (a concessional loan from the Industrial Development Fund for the construction of a thermomechanical pulp production line, an agreement on the implementation of a corporate program to increase competitiveness, which allowed to increase export volumes and expand the geography of shipping) and then noted that JSC Volga, as it develops, constantly faces new challenges.
“The Russian Government identified African countries as perspective partners, as well as a promising export development direction. It was announced at the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi. For us that market is one of the most important directions in terms of shipping. Volga’s share in the import of newsprint to Africa is about 15-20%,” stated Sergey Lomakin. “However, a number of African countries (such as Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) have a custom duty (5% to 20%) on newsprint, including that of Russian origin. Meanwhile the same European product is exempt from duties (imported at a zero rate). The abolition of duties would help us to increase the volume of our company's exports to Africa by 2 times with the existing capacities.”
To the question “Is it possible to get assistance with resolving this issue?”, Olga Guseva, Director of the Department of External Relations of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, replied that Africa is certainly one of the most promising areas for the development of Russian exports.
“One of the tools to assist Russian entrepreneurs in cooperation with foreign partners and create favorable conditions for the development of foreign economic relations of the Russian Federation is the established system of Intergovernmental Commissions on Trade and Economic Cooperation with foreign countries. Considering that this issue requires more of a large-scale solution, we will form an appeal following the meeting, that will be sent to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation in preparation for the Intergovernmental Commission on the interested countries,” noted Olga Guseva.
“Export council is a coordinating body that assists regional enterprises with submitting their proposals on the development of Nizhny Novgorod exports for discussion at the regional Government level. At the meeting, the issues of additional subsidies for product certification, import duties to African countries and expanding opportunities for business cooperation with Uzbekistan were discussed. We will work on resolving all these issues with our colleagues from the Government,” noted Deputy Governor Andrey Sanosyan, summing up the meeting.
Volga Press Service
COMPANY PROFILE
JSC “Volga” (Balakhna, Nizhny Novgorod region) is a vertically integrated timber company. The company produces paper made from 100% thermo-mechanical pulp for printing books, newspapers and graphic products, paper for corrugation and other packaging grades.
The production of JSC Volga, awarded with Diplomas of the all-Russia contest “100 best good in Russia” on numerous occasions, is exported to more than 80 countries.
JSC Volga is counted among the Top-50 largest timber companies in Russia, Top-100 largest companies in Nizhny Novgorod region and is included in the list “Ranking of largest exporters of Nizhny Novgorod region” as well as in the all-Russia rating “Industry leaders of Russia”.
In 2020 JSC Volga was included in the list of the core (socially significant) timber companies in Russia by Ministry of Industry and Trade.
