Image credit: Kaliningrad Amber Combine
Government, science and business representatives discussed the future of the amber industry at the International Economic Forum, AmberForum 2022 held in Svetlogorsk, Russia.
The participants spoke on the topics of the extensive use of amber in human life, the possibilities of creating new industries in the pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetology, tourism and other industries, financing scientific research, and considered ways to attract investors.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Alexei Bezprozvannykh called the amber forum a key platform for all participants of the amber community. In his opinion, the forum has reached the level where strategic tasks for the development of the industry are set at its business events, which are implemented in accordance with the adopted roadmap. Vladimir Litvin, Representative of the Rostec State Corporation and Chairman of the Board of the Kaliningrad Amber Combine emphasized that Rostec has invested more than 1 billion rubles in recent years in the modernization of the production facilities of the Kaliningrad Amber Combine, where high technologies are used today on a broad scale - from the extraction of raw materials to their storage and processing. In 2021, the investments to development the amber operation amounted to 613 million rubles. Last year, jewelry production was launched at the Kaliningrad Amber Combine, and currently this enterprise known for its high production culture and social responsibility provides jobs for more than one thousand people. The tasks set by Rostec for the enterprise are focused on further promotion of the amber brand, the renovation of jewelry design, and the use of amber in various areas of human life.
Veronika Lesikova, Minister of Economic Development, Industry and Trade of the Kaliningrad Province, spoke about the regional policy for the development of the amber industry. In her opinion, the amber industry is not only a solution to the social problems of the region bringing in significant tax payments, but also a powerful object of attraction for tourists. There is a number of measures to support amber processors and tourism cluster enterprises in the region. There is also a need to diversify the use of Baltic succinite.
Image credit: Kaliningrad Amber Combine
Mikhail Zatsepin, General Director of the Kaliningrad Amber Combine, emphasized that the enterprise has achieved significant results in amber processing in recent years. Markets are changing, new economic conditions pose challenges, which in turn develop into new points of growth: “Many of our business partners are not here today for various reasons, but new vectors are emerging in the amber market: Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the Arab Emirates.”
The fact that the market of the countries of the Middle East is promising in the sale of amber and products of its processing, was confirmed by Mohammad Alkandari, chairman of the Amber Association of the Gulf States, who noted the increasing interest in this stone among investors.
The amber forum participants also discussed the issues of supervisory activities in the region. Nikolai Alisov, Chief Federal Inspector for the Kaliningrad Province, said that the state has done a lot to stop illegal mining and sale of amber, emphasizing the need to create a strict regulatory framework, as well as to involve the inhabitants of the region in the legal processing of amber.
The amber enterprise and the industry are now focused on new tasks, which include the expansion into new markets, diversified use of amber and its derivatives, as well as promotion of the amber brand in the tourism sector.
The forum participants were unanimous that the amber industry has excellent prospects.
