"The non-energy segment is of great importance in the life of the regions: for some it is the basis of the economy, for others - a source of employment. It is gratifying that the number of companies involved in export activities is growing (28% year-on-year growth). This reflects the high interest of non-resource businesses in all regions in the export agenda. This is the basis for the future development of non-energy exports," Nikishina said during her speech at the session "New Strength of the Regions".
She noted that while at the all-Russian level, the agro-industrial complex (AIC) is a bright driver of non-energy exports, the situation may be very different at the regional level.
For example, the Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk regions, Tatarstan and Chuvashia, as well as the Krasnodar Territory are among the regions where the export of engineering products with a share of 30-40% in non-energy exports became the driver in the first half of 2023. By the way, this industry significantly declined in 2022.
According to REC research, the maximum increase in non-energy exports for the specified period was shown by Chukotka, Magadan, Irkutsk, Amur, as well as Novosibirsk regions and the Altai Territory. New territories also fell into the cluster. The scale of growth varies from hundreds of millions of dollars for leaders to the first millions of dollars for, for example, Sevastopol. One of the main drivers of growth was the agro-industrial complex, but for Novosibirsk, Bryansk, Altai Territory, growth was recorded in mechanical engineering.
In addition, in the Rostov, Sverdlovsk, Ivanovo, Moscow, Chelyabinsk regions, Udmurtia and Moscow are increasing the volume of the agro-industrial complex. In the Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk regions, Tatarstan and the Krasnodar Territory – mechanical engineering. Also, an increase in exports of products of the forest complex is recorded in the Samara region, the chemical industry – in the Novosibirsk region, and metallurgy – in St. Petersburg.
According to the CEO of REC, there are three areas that require special attention from regional export support systems. "The first is systemic assistance to novice exporters in various aspects, including finding potential buyers and organizing meetings with them. The second is attention to the export of industries showing positive dynamics. The third is supporting traditional industries of export specialization in reorienting flows to new sales markets," Nikishina summarized.